A Revenant's Battlefield
by Lady.Pandemonium
Summary: Luna awakens with no memory of herself, only her name. Thrown into a world of chaos, her powers are the only thing that can help the survival of all suffering Revenants. As she starts to remember her previous life, she cannot fight the feelings she once had towards another and the painful truth of her past. Rating for language in some chapters and future scenes.
1. Awakening

So a little more information because I really suck at writing summaries. I love playing Code Vein! I've unlocked almost all of the endings, I work a lot so it does take me awhile to write a new chapter.

Anyway my main partner is Louis, and I wanted to write a story where my OC had different ties with the Queen and Louis. I really hope you all enjoy my take of events and some events will change, I also have some plans for future scenes that I hope you'll all like. Don't forget to please leave reviews so I know what you guys think!

* * *

"_Time wake up," _the voice called to her, as she could feel every nerve in her body coming to life. _"Hey come on, you can't sleep forever."_ the woman's voice spoke to her again. Her body felt like the embodiment of exhaustion, as she slowly opened her eyes; her weary eyes looked around her surroundings. _"Good, you're awake." _

"Awake?" she questioned, as she could see something manifest before her. Standing in front of her was a woman, her long silver hair reached to about her ankles with a portion of it pulled together into a very low braided band. Her warm skin tone complimented the dark blue gown the mysterious woman dawned looked to be something that a hospital patient would wear. A black and white collar was wrapped around her neck, a couple of tubes split at the center as they moved down her chest and down her white bandaged covered forearms, bright crimson eyes looked upon her with curiosity.

The silver haired woman nodded, _"you've been asleep for quite some time."_ she said, as a mirror appeared from her side. She offered her hand, as the woman before her on the ground grabbed it as she helped her up. _"Please I want you to look at yourself."_ she instructed.

Her purple eyes widened, jet black hair that shimmered blue in the light of the room reached down past her hips; she could see the last couple inches if her hair appeared to fade to a silver like color.. Warm peach skin was hiddened as black leather fingerless gloves touched the high collar of her top, the fabric was soft to the touch but also sturdy from the top of her collar to just a bit below her breasts formed a large V-shape as two buckle like fasteners kept the from exposing any more. The soft fabric was replaced by black leather that started just below the second buckle and split just at the top of her dark blue shorts. The leather like waist cape split down the center, reaching halfway down her knee high dark boots, the silver spikes on her shoes glistened.

"_Do you remember your name?" _the woman asked.

She searched her mind as it came to her, "Luna."

"_Luna, there's something things I need to tell you." _the woman started, as the mirror vanished. _"When you awaken, you'll need to fight to survive. Do you remember how to do that?" _

Luna nodded her head, "for some reason I feel like I do." she answered the silver haired woman.

"_Let's put that to the test." _snapping her fingers she disappeared. Feeling something heavy in her right hand, her hand tightened its grasp around the hilt of the black and red blade. It was almost as tall as her, as something else started to arise.

It appeared to be a few feet taller than Luna, it's gray blue skin was scarred and burned. Elongated hands and fingers looked like they were spears, as its black mask like face hid its face. Tattered clothing barely covered its body, each fidget it made was shortly followed by the sound of something cracking. Glowing red eyes glared at Luna, as she pointed the tip of the blade at the monster.

"**Rahhhh!" **the monster shouted as Luna charged towards it. Swinging her blade up sideways she slashed the monsters chest, thick red crimson liquid spilled from the wound. Aiming for the enemies neck she felt no resistance as the sharp blade ran through the beasts thick neck like it was nothing. The creature fell to its knees a flame of red ashes engulfed its body, as the silver haired woman appeared before her.

"_Good," _she spoke. _"You can probably feel it now. There's a special energy that runs through a Revenants body that allows you to enhance your battle skills and can manipulate into long range attacks, think of it as magic from a fairy tale." _she explained, as she grabbed hold of Luna's hand. Her eyes glowed for a brief moment, returning back to normal. _"Interesting…."_

Her words worried Luna, "what's interesting?" she questioned.

"_Typically Revenants can only have one specific blood codes; blood codes determine what kind of fighter you are, in a sense, but it appears you don't have one. To be honest it's broken" _she answered her, _"you're the one I was waiting for."_

"Me?"

The silver haired woman nodded, _"yes, you see there's something I must ask of you," _she told Luna, as she could see her body slowly starting to fade. _"I thought I had more time," _she whispered as everything around Luna was disappearing, _"there are Revenants out there that you cannot trust and others you can, it is when you find the one with a kind heart and a pain filled soul that you'll find the truth."_

"Wait can't you be more specific?! What's wrong with my blood code!? Who is this person I need to find?" Luna questioned as she was swallowed by darkness.

"_Please…. Save everyone."_

* * *

The howling wind surrounded her body, pain struck her throat as she felt it was dry. A powerful craving was slowly creeping up on her, slowly opening her eyes she could see with blurry vision the appearance of a building and black spikes with golden light streaks. The sky was filled with darkness, as the grey clouds drifted past, "welcome back." someone spoke to her as they appeared before her face.

Moon lit white hair was covered by a black hood clock, golden eyes filled with curiosity and innocence a thin metal frame cupped the sides of her face. "Hello, how are you feeling?" the woman questioned. The black thorn like scarf draped down both of her arms as her body was covered in a blade baring shirt that reached past her hips it clung to her body as Luna could see numerous rips and tears in it. Attempting to sit up, she could feel her strength was nearly gone, as the white haired woman placed a hand on Luna's back, helping her up.

The gray black veins start to spread from the left side of Luna's face as she looked around. Large buildings decimated by chaos, roads were torn and filled with abandoned cars and rubble. Black spikes pierced the buildings and roads, like deadly rose thorns as the emptiness around them was hauntingly eerie. What appeared to be a symbol of prosperity and life was gone, as their surroundings was nothing more of a reminder of what once was humanity. A large thick vapor like red barrier stood behind the buildings, as the crimson wall separate something from them.

Luna tried to remember where she was or what had happened, but her memories of everything were gone. "Don't worry, I don't remember anything either." the white haired woman spoke, as Luna felt a chill run down her spine.

The white haired woman stood up, as she pointed to their left. In the distance appeared to be a small white tree, Luna could see the bandages wrapped around her left leg. "Over there." she said. Forcing herself to sit up, Luna could feel something clawing at her as with each step she took towards the mysterious white tree made the pain worse.

Her body was riddled by a powerful craving, one that she couldn't understand. Each step kept growing heavier and heavier, as the white haired woman slowed her pace to ensure Luna stayed close to her. The pain in her throat was agony, as they stood before the white tree; not a single leaf or anything adorned its naked branches.

The white haired woman kneeled before the spring as she stroked the roots that were imbedded into the ground. "It seems everyone, everywhere is thirsty." she commented, she faced Luna was she held out her hand. Taking a few more steps, Luna felt something snap in her as she hunched over her hand gripped at her chest.

No words could escape her lips as she growled in pain. Her clear vision turned red as she could see fuzzy images of individuals, the pain in her body was driving her mad as it pierced her more and more. _**"Blood need blood!" **_she yelled in her head.

"_**Blood!**_

_**Blood!**_

_**Must have blood!"**_

Her mind continued to scream as she tried to hold herself back. The white haired woman tried to soothe Luna, as she grabbed her arm; holding it up to her lips she bit down hard on her arm as blood began to drip from the wound.

A few drops fell upon the dried roots as they were quickly absorbed into it. The tree began to glow as the once small branches elongated and grew, as small red lights turned into crimson shaped tear drops that grew all over the tree. The white haired woman looked at the tree in amazement, "so it is you," she said as she walked to the tree grabbing a crimson tear drop as she presented it to Luna, "here drink this, this is for you." she told her.

Luna took the drop into her hand as it was almost as big as her own hand. Putting the tip of it to her deep red lips she sucked the liquid from the vial, the thick metallic liquid washed her dry throat with a sense of relief as the pain she once felt had subsided. "Thank you," she thanked the white haired woman as her voice had finally returned to her.

Falling to her knees, the woman rushed over to Luna. "Please rest, your body still needs to recover." she said to her, as Luna could feel her eyes shut close. The woman pulled Luna onto her lap as she sat there looking upon Luna's sleeping face, "I shall watch over you until you wake up."

Hours seemed to pass, as the woman continued to keep watch. Her gaze turned to her side, as she could see two individuals approach them. Both wore masks that covered their entire face, as both of them were dressed like military soldiers, both wore the same white jacket as they pointed the ends of their bayonets at them she could hear them laugh. "Well would you look at this, these two thought they could hide this spring all to themselves." the first one approached them, his blonde hair was cut very short. "I'd say we hit the jackpot, a new spring and two new cuties."

"Knock that off," the second one demanded. "Grab the one that's sleeping, and you-!" he commanded as the blonde haired man lifted Luna off of the white haired woman's lap, throwing her over his shoulder, "get up." She slowly got up, as she followed both men away from the blood spring, she felt nothing but concern as she stayed close to the man holding her companion.

* * *

_The white void surrounded him as he had been walking aimlessly. He knew this dream well, as he had this same dream every night for years. Always walking an unknown stone path that built itself with every step he took, a never ending journey that seemed to have no end in sight. Even if he woke himself up, he would always find himself back in the same place. "The same dream once again." he sighed. He had an idea of what the dream could have meant, but he refused to give up._

_To him each path lead to something, whether it was big or small he would find something at the end of the never ending path. Though he felt things were beginning to feel that way when he was awake. Always finding himself in the same spot, trying to find a new path or a new destination that would break him of the cycle._

"_What's that?" he looked out into the distance as he could see a figure standing alone, a large dark stone entrance behind them. They appeared to be reaching for a single blood bead that hung from the branch of the withered blood spring. This was something new, something that he had never seen before. The path he walked branched off towards the figure, as he could see them better._

_Long dark hair flowed down past her hips, a single strap held the crimson red dress that she dawned on her as it covered most of light skin body. He watched her brush a lock of hair from her face, her purple eyes gazing at him. His eyes widened as he reached his hand out towards her. "Is it you?" he choked as he could feel his heart beating fast, a sense of joy welling up inside of him. "Please tell me it's really you," he begged as the woman slowly reached his hand towards his. _

_She pulled back her hand, as a black mist began to spill from the tunnel behind her. Looking back at him, a sorrow filled smile pulled at her lips, tears running from her closed eyes. "Run….." she said to him. Through the darkness of the mist he could see a large spear beginning to take shape, it shot out of the darkness as it pierced the woman in the chest._

_Time stopped as she was frozen, her blood covered the spear. Her body slowly began to turn to ash as her hands reached towards the spear. "No!" he ran towards her as she and everything else around him vanished, leaving him alone._

_**Click, click….**_

_He turned around as the sound of heeled shoes clicked behind him. She walked along the path, ahead of him. "Wait, please!" He shouted as he ran after her. Using every bit of stamina he had he ran towards her as she was far ahead of him. "No, don't go!" He stopped to catch his breath as he could see her disappear into the white abyss. Reaching his hand out, "no, come back!"_

He shot out of bed, his hand reaching for his chest. He could feel his heart racing fast as he was panting. Something different happened in his dream, something that he would have never expected. Running a hand through his hair, his eyes looked over at the dark wood nightstand.

A silver locket glistened, a single diamond in the center of the heart shaped pendant as it hung on a silver chain. Reaching for it, his crimson eyes studied the piece of jewelry. Many thoughts raced in his mind, but only a few stuck with him. He knew a place similar to what he saw in his dream, it had been a few days since he had been back there. "The Old City Ruins huh," he said to himself as he held the locket to his chest, "is that where I'll finally find you?"

* * *

Luna opened her eyes as she noticed that she was in some place different. It was dark, the air surrounding her felt thick and muggy; each breath she took made her chest felt heavy as more and more weight was being added. Her eyes slowly adjusted to this new place, she could hear the mummers of others around her, only the light if a lit torch at the top of the hole gave little light to help guide her.

"On your feet! Get up and get ready, we're searching for blood beads!" a man shouted at the top of the hole.

Sitting up Luna could feel some of her strength had returned to her but now all of it, as she looked to see the white haired woman sitting in the corner. "Looks like you're finally awake," she heard a man speak as she looked to her side. She couldn't make out any features about him specifically, "where's your mask?" he asked her.

Putting a hand to her face, her fingers traced the metal frame around her face. "What mask?" she questioned.

"Doesn't the air in here feel different, makes it hard for you to breath. It's the miasma around us, breath that stuff long enough and you'll become one of the Lost that's why we need a purifier mask, but even then these things can only help so much." he explained to her.

"I see," Luna sighed. "I woke up not to long ago, but I don't have a mask…. I don't know what happened to it." she told the man, "so where exactly are we?"

"You're in a slave pen, your friend and you were captured and thrown down here with us, the folks upstairs make us search for blood beads." he told her, as Luna could see him moving his hand to his face. "Come here girl," he said as Luna approached him, she could see him motion for her to come close to him. "Look at the first chance you two get, run. You'll need to fight some ugly fuckers, but you two can handle it." he whispered to her. "These guys have a tendency to pick on any fresh blood they find, they'll basically make you hunt till you're either killed or turned into one of the lost." he pulled his mask from his face.

"You need your mask!" Luna said, as he handed his mask to her.

"Look kid, your survival is important. I'm done living the life of a slave,-"

"Numbers three and four, newcomers time to work!" the man shouted as the sound of metal ladder hitting the concrete floor made Luna jump.

"I made sure your friend got a mask, just stay alive out there kid." he told her. Luna hesitantly put the mask to her face as it clipped into place. She could feel it only cover half her face, as each breath she took was clean and clear, relieving the heaviness in her chest. Walking over to the white haired girl she shook her, as she woke up.

"I know this is a bad time to ask, but what's your name?" Luna asked the girl, as she was silent for a moment.

"Io," she responded.

Looking at the mask in her lap, Luna grabbed it as she held it up to her face. "Io we need to go, but you need to wear this," she instructed her as she clipped the mask over the Io's face. The rustling of other Revenants echoed in the dark space, as Luna guided Io to the ladder grabbing the cold metal bars she climbed up towards the lit torch.

Approaching the top she felt a pair of hands roughly grabbed her, as she could see two men before her, as they dragged her down the concrete tunnel. "Hey let me go!" Luna demanded, as their grip tightened around her. Luna looked behind her, as she could see Io they were pulling her so much that they were almost lifting her off the ground. "Get your hands off of my friend!" she shouted, bearing her heels into the ground she pulled her head back as she clashed her head with one of the men.

He let go of her arm as she turned her hand into a fist, driving it into the other man's throat. Luna could feel his hands release her arms, as she ran back towards her friend. Swiftly she kicked both of the guards, as she grabbed her friends arm. "What are you doing?" Io questioned, as Luna and her ran through the tunnel.

"I'm getting us the hell out of here," Luna told her. The tunnel felt like a maze, as each turn added to her confusion.

"What's your name?" Io asked her.

"Bad time to ask," Luna responded, as she shook her head. "But it's Luna." She could see a light in the distance, "I think I see our exit!" Luna cheered. The light of the burning sun hurt her eyes, as she felt blinded after being trapped in the darkness for so long.

She looked around at her surroundings as she could see a similar scene of devastation from before, she could see a few different paths they could take but didn't know which one to choose as she could hear the sound of their captors closing in on them. Without thinking Luna took the path ahead of them, as she didn't let go of her friend's hand, "they're getting close." her friend said.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Luna responded as she came to a dead halt, a small group of soldiers stood together as one walked towards them. She could tell that he was their leader, as she could hear footsteps behind her as they were completely surrounded. "Shit."

"Well look at this," he said, his blonde hair was dyed with purple ends as reached down past his shoulder, he walked towards the two woman as Luna stood before the white haired girl. "You two thought you could escape didn't you?" he sarcastically asked them, as he looked Luna directly in the eye his crimson stare burned into her.

"Let us go you bastard!" Luna shouted at him, as she could feel the brunt force of his first make contact with her stomach. Feeling the wind knocked out of her, she collapsed to the ground gasping for air. Io knelt down next to her.

"You don't make the demands here girl!" the man told her, as he grabbed Luna by the hair and lift her up. "You work for me, and what I says go, got that?"

"Go to hell you arrogant jackass," Luna said as she felt another blow to her stomach as he threw her to the ground. She screamed in pain as he kicked her over and over again, Luna put her arms in front of her chest as they took most of the force of his attacks. Every nerve in her arms and upper torso were screaming in agony, as he ceased.

"Get her up! We've got work to do." He ordered as Io rushed to her side. Io supported her to sit up, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Start moving or what happened to her is what will happen to you."

Luna held out her hand, "don't you dare hurt her!" Luna threatened gasping for air, as she saw him turn his back on them as she slowly got to her feet. Feeling the tip of a blade in there back, Luna and Io followed the leader. "Stay close to me Io," she instructed her as she could feel the pain in her body linger.

They walked for a short distance, as they could see an orange haired Revenant being held hostage by a few other soldiers. The blonde haired man looked at both women, "it's pretty simple you go down in those tunnels, grab some blood beads, and get out." he said, as Luna approached the orange haired Revenant, from his demeanor she could tell he was obeying them. The purple jacket dawned on his shoulders was darker than his lavender purple dress shirt, the tears and scratches on his teal vest and camouflage pants converted to her that this wasn't his first time being sent on a search like this.

Taking a step forward Luna noticed that Io wasn't close to her, looking back she could see her standing next to the leader of the band of misfits, his hand grabbing Io's shoulder. "What are you-?!" before she could ask her question two Revenant soldiers stood in front of her.

"Don't think I know of your little plan?" he sarcastically asked. "You thought it would be that easy for you two just to escape if I let you loose in the tunnels?" he shook his head, "you can have your friend back when you come back with some blood beads. You bring me enough and both of you are free to leave." he told Luna as her eyes widened in horror. "But know this, if you aren't back by sundown then your friend will pay for your mistakes."

"You bastard!" Luna fought back the urge to punch him, she knew she didn't stand a chance with so many Revenants supporting him. She knew what she had to do, "alright fine." she responded as a soldier shoved a fairly sized beige pouch in her hand. Looking at in curiosity "what the hell is this?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, you want your freedom then fill this bag with blood beads and you'll earn it." the soldier answered her as he shoved Luna and the orange haired man towards a large dark hole. "Now," he lifted up his leg, "get moving!" feeling the kick in the center of her back Luna fell forwards as she was immersed in darkness.

The impact of the cold ground beneath her stunned her as she felt the pain in her arms return once more. Forcing herself to stand up, she could see black thorns; similar to what she saw when she awoken were glowing an eerie purple hue, straight ahead was a small burning flame. "Hey are you ok?" she heard someone ask as she looked to see the orange haired man, his mask was covering most of his face.

Nodding her head. "I could be better," she told him honestly. A wave of anxiety was beginning to hit her, she knew that she couldn't fight very well as only a small sliver of her strength remained after the beating. Luna looked up as she could see the light from the hole towering above her, "I guess we need to find another way out of here." she said.

"I know this tunnel pretty well," the man said, "I can help get you back to the surface." he offered her, as he picked up a large piece of metal piping. "But first you'll need this," he gave it to her as she took it in her hand. It was freezing cold, but she felt that it had a good amount of weight to it. "That should get you by until we get out of here." He walked over to a large piece of metal, as Luna could make out that it appeared to be a large sledge hammer.

"You'd really help me?" she questioned him, as the man nodded his head.

"Look don't trust those guys. Even if you do manage to get enough blood beads they'll never let either of you go free." he said to her.

"Don't you think I already know that, I just need to figure out a plan to get us away from them." Luna already knew that it wouldn't be as easy to earn their freedom. "If necessary I could just beat them all to a bloody pulp."

The man held out his hand, "I'm Oliver Collins by the way." he introduced himself. Luna took his hand as they shook.

"I'm Luna."

"Your friend must mean a lot to you if you were willing to go on this search for her, despite your injuries." Oliver said as he lead the way.

"I take it you saw everything that happened." she spoke, Oliver nodded his head, "look Oliver I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know if I'm in the best condition to do this but I'm willing to do anything to save my friend."

He stopped, as he motioned for her to hide behind a large wall of rubble. The maniacal laughing of something was approaching them, Oliver held his hand out to her as a signal for her to stay put as he ran towards the unknown creature. The loud metal bashing of his weapon resonated with the sound of something fragile being broken and squished. Oliver appeared before her, the light of the flame glistened from the blood on his weapon. "Good answer," he said to Luna as she saw something else in his hand.

She grabbed the hilt of the large sword, dropping the metal bar. The blade looked sharp, but there were numerous scratches on it almost like claw marks. "Thanks."

Turning a corner she could see two Lost ahead of them as they were looking around. Without thinking Luna charged towards both of them. They noticed her right away as she swiftly swung her sword, she could feel the blade make contact with their bodies as she slashed quickly until they turned to ash. _"Don't worry Io, I'll survive this hell."_

* * *

Crimson eyes looked upon the scene, as he stayed out of sight. The Revenants with the white haired girl sat there. He shook his head as a plan began to form in his mind, he knew how difficult it would be to save the white haired woman due to the amount of soldiers with her. He took a deep breath as he began to fear for the one that was pushed down the hole and the horrors that await her.

He knew there was only one way to save both of them.

Reaching for his crimson blade he made his way down from atop the shattered remains of the large building, seeing in the distance another way into the underground ruins. He felt a spark in his body that he hadn't felt in so long that it was almost foreign to him. Despite the circumstances he could feel the corners of his lips pull into a small smile, looking down in his hand at the memento left behind he had no doubt.

"It's her."


	2. Survival

Luna kept her distance, as she ran down the narrow ledge. Focusing her energy to her hand she turned towards her enemies, a bright light emitted from her hand; pointing it in the direction of one of the Lost a large ball of fire formed gunning directly towards it. The wailing scream of pain left the monsters mouth as it burned to ash. "One down, two to go," she said to herself.

She needed to fast as the other two were gaining on her, "I've only got one chance." she could a path leading up to her left as she climbed up it. Gathering the remaining energy she had left she locked onto one of her targets, as she launched another large fireball at it, its body quickly turning to ash as there was only one left.

Holding up her bayonet she jabbed it directly into the monsters chest, pulling the trigger. The large bang echoed in the darkness as the sound of blood hitting the ground behind the beast was nearly drowned out by its cry of pain, she watched it disintegrate leaving her all alone in the vast emptiness of the unknown space.

Looking ahead Luna could see a small fire in the distance, as she made herself walk towards it. Her conditioned worsened with every passing moment she was trapped in the large cave, enemies hiding around almost every corner of its winding tunnels. She didn't know how much longer she would last, considering she was now alone. There were so many monsters in this cave, with two it was easy to handle the onslaught of waves of enemies but some of them were strong enough to be considered a handful.

The injuries she had sustained so far were taking a considerable toll on her overall, she needed to find a bloodspring and fast. She had learned from Oliver before their untimely separation that there was a bloodspring just up ahead from where she was.

Luna looked back towards the path she had taken, she knew that a good distance away was Oliver lying against the rocks. They were almost attacked by another Revenant that was sent in ahead of them, though she knew that there was something wrong with that Revenant in particular other than his eyes were glowing bright red.

Even though he wasn't injured, his mask was severely damaged. "I should have killed that guy sooner, if I did Oliver wouldn't-" Luna didn't finish her sentence. From what she had gathered from talking with him, she had a feeling that this would be his fate. "Please make it out of here ok," she whispered.

A chill ran down her spine as Luna felt something starting to approach her. She had almost no strength left to use fire her bayonet; concentrating she felt the cloth around her right arm begin to wrap around her. Elongated like spears adorned her right hand like a glove, she winced at the pain from her injuries as it was wrapped tightly around her. Cord like tubes attached to her purifier mask; turning around she swung her hand as she felt it make contact with something.

The large purple blob was frozen, it didn't look like it could do much damage to her as its jello like body bobbed up and down. Luna could see a thick purple liquid similar to its overall color pour from the large open slit across what she believed to be its face. The dark liquid started to pour into the veins attached to her attack arm and into her body. A searing pain began to tear through her body, as she could feel the poison starting to spread slowly. "Damn it, that thing was poisonous." she said to herself as she grabbed her right arm. "I need to get back to Io!"

Io.

An unsettling feeling set in. Luna didn't know how long she was down here, for all she knew she had been down here for hours. Trying to shake the numbness in her right arm she push forward towards a large opening ahead. She needed to save Io.

Entering into the large open space she could feel a presence nearby, drawing her weapon she aimed to her left. "Who the hell are you?!" she questioned, she watched as he stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the lit torches.

He appeared to be around her age, as she could see only one of his eyes as his other one was covered by his untamed black hair. The mask he wore covered about half of his face, as he stared at her. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up, exposing a black and white checkered like pattern; the collar of his shirt was unbuttoned. The vest he wore over it appeared to be red and faded to black, black leather pants were tucked into his red boots.

Luna could see the sword in his hand, as the flickering lights from the burning flames danced off of the crimson blade. "Take it easy, I'm not looking for any trouble." he answered her, as he tried to approach her.

"Take another step towards me and I'll shoot." she threatened, as the man stopped.

He was shocked by her response, "look, I'm not going to harm you." he said to her. "I just want to talk."

"About what?" Luna inquired, "don't tell me you work for that jackass that threw me down here?!" she yelled. She didn't care about her injuries or the poison that infected her body as she charged towards the man. Both of their weapons clashed, as they were in a deadlock. "I swear if any of you hurt her-!"

They both jumped away as Luna went at him once more, swing her bayonet the man countered each of her attacks. "Calm down!" he ordered, as he got some distance from her. "Look I don't work for anyone, nor would I affiliate myself with those who force others to do their bidding." he told her, as Luna didn't back down.

"Why should I believe that?" she questioned him, as she tried to charge at him once more but something was different. Her finger pulled the trigger as a bullet of energy was aimed directly at the man. Holding his sword up he deflected the shot, Luna wasn't surprised as she shot at him a couple more time, their weapons in a deadlock. Black veins began to crawl up her neck as she took a step, she felt the grip she had on her bayonet slip as her weapon fell from her hand hitting the ground. Falling forward her body felt paralyzed as she couldn't use her arms to brace herself for impact, her body hit the ground as everything began to hit her all at once.

The poison had spread throughout her body as the pain from her injuries only made things worse. Clenching her arm, her body was slowly starting to get cold as the little strength she had was about gone. Luna cried out in pain as the man rushed over to her. He put down his weapon as he held Luna in his arms, "what's wrong?" moving the hair that covered her neck he saw it.

Dark veins began to manifest as they were branching across her chest and face. He could tell that the pain she was suffering from was only getting worse, as she desperately tried to fight it back. It didn't appear to be a frenzy to him, though it did look to be a bad case of poison, "look," he spoke as she looked up at him, her eyes were glowing bright crimson red. "I'm going to help you, but I need you to trust me. Ok?" he told her, as she barely able to nodded her head.

Luna didn't want to, but if this was a chance for her to continue fighting she had to trust him. She watched as the stranger grabbed two vials from his pouch, "what are those?" she mustered the strength to ask as she could feel the poison was starting to spread even faster.

"From what I can tell you've been poisoned, is that correct?" he asked her, as she nodded her head. "I need you to hold still, I'm going to give you something to treat the poison." he said to her, as she felt him hold the tip of the needle against her skin. "This will only hurt for a moment," he inserted into her neck. Luna tried to stay still as the needle entered into her neck, as the liquid that was being pushed inside of her slowly start to alleviate the pain from the poison, the stranger watched as the black veins were beginning to disappear, pulling the vial from her.

Taking a deep breath, she saw the man holding the second vial the glass case was clear as the liquid was an intriguing green color. "What the hell is that?"

"This is something that'll help heal you, it won't be much but it'll be enough." he told her, as he inserted the needle close to the first spot and inject her with the fluid. She flinched, as she felt the sting of weakness leave her as he helped her sit up. "Take a moment to rest, the area up ahead is teaming with Lost."

Luna grabbed her weapon as she stood up, "I don't have time to rest, I need to get out of here." the man blocked her path as he was determined not to let her leave. "I appreciate you helping me, but I need to get going."

"I understand that you're worried for your friend, but you need to to worry about yourself first. In your condition you won't make it back to the surface." he told her, Luna couldn't deny that he was right. She walked towards the wall of the cave as she leaned against it. They stood there in silence for a moment, as he could tell that she was irritated, "may I ask why you're by yourself?"

She closed her eyes, "my companion was attacked by another Revenant, neither of us were hurt but his mask suffered severe damage. He told me to go on ahead and take this path back to the surface." Luna was careful to leave out any mention of blood beads, for all she knew this stranger was also after them. Though there was something about him she couldn't shake.

"I see well don't worry, we'll make it back to the surface."

"We?" she questioned.

"I was hoping for a partner for the path ahead," he told her, "just until we reach the surface, but if you want I can help you save your friend." the man offered. "What do you say?"

He held out his hand, Luna hesitated for a moment. "Every person I've partnered with, something has happened to them. I don't want to put your life at risk." she told him. "However, I can't make it out of here alone. Just don't blame me for any trouble that may come your way." she grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry I can handle it."

"Well partner, care to tell me what your name is?" she asked him.

There was no denying that something was wrong with her, as he fought back his own emotions. "Louis, and you?"

"Luna."

"You ready?" Louis asked her as he looked towards the lit path, "there's a bloodspring just beyond this path, that's what you're looking for, right?" he saw her eyes widened, "your captors, they're no different than other Revenants I've crossed blades with. They force others to do their bidding out of fear of losing themselves, and in some cases they use dirty tricks to ensure they get what they want."

She was beyond shocked, as they walked along the path. "I take it that's a common thing," she responded as they entered into a large open space. She couldn't see any enemies hiding on the ledges or in plain sight, it was completely empty. Luna could see an opening atop one of the ledges as the light that poured out of it was different than the light of the torches, but instead appeared to be light from the surface. "Louis look there's a ladder," she pointed out to him as they ran towards it.

"You go up first, I'll keep an eye out just in case." he told her, as Luna began climbing up the cold metal ladder. Each step of her heels on the metal steps clicked, as she reached the top. He saw her standing at the top, as Louis followed behind her.

Luna held up her bayonet as she looked around, she offered her hand as Louis was close to the top. He grabbed a hold of her hand, as he stood beside her. "Is that it?" she questioned as they walked into the light. Jumping down from the ledge, they stood before it.

The white tree looked like it was on the verge of death as it was withered, not a single blood bead adorned its branches. Luna was horrified at the sight. "Looks like this one is dry."

"Dry?"

Louis nodded his head, "most of the bloodsprings have been starting to dry up, making blood beads more rare to come across." he told her.

"_But how come that other bloodspring started producing blood beads when Io and I found it?" _Luna questioned as she tried to remember, stabbing the blade of her bayonet into the ground she pulled off her arm length glove, flinching as the material tightened around the bruises on her arm. She looked at her wrist as she could see the bite mark from Io was starting to scab up, _"I wonder…."_

"Louis, do you by chance have a knife of something?" she asked him, as she could feel his gaze upon her bruises.

He carefully reached into the pouch attached to his right leg, pulling a small dagger from it as he handed it to her. "What are you going to do?" he asked her, as he watched her press the blade into the palm of her hand, pulling it across quickly as a small pool of blood began to form. "Luna-?!"

The cut stung, Luna tilted her hand as the blood dripped onto the dried roots of the bloodspring. A blue hue emitted from the tree as the branches started to grow longer and multiply, the sound of wood cracks followed as they both watched as blood beads started to form along the newly created branches. "So my blood can restore bloodsprings," Luna said to herself as she felt Louis grab her hand. He carefully wrapped the fresh wound with a soft white wrap, he made sure there was just enough pressure to stop the bleeding but not too tight that it cuts off any circulation. "Thank you."

Louis was speechless by what he saw. Just a drop of her blood and the spring was revitalized. He had never seen anything like it before, "how did you do that?" He questioned her.

"I wish I could tell you," she answered him as Luna pulled her glove back onto her arm slowly, as she began grabbing blood beads from the tree. Reaching towards the top, she managed to grab the largest blood bead that formed as she could see that each one appeared to be different sizes. She looked at the bead as she hesitated to put it in the bag, "here," she offered it to Louis. "Please, take it."

Louis took it from her, "you sure?"

She nodded her head, as she tied the beige bag and attached it to her side. "I've got enough." she told him, as they continued on the path. "So how much farther until we reach the surface?"

"Not much, we just need to take this path." he answered her, Luna grabbed her bayonet.

"Alright, let's go." she told him, as she followed the path that Louis had pointed out. "So what's your plan?" she asked him, as the closer they were getting to the surface, it became more and more clear to her of the impending struggle they may face. "I want to believe that we have a chance, but to be honest I feel like our chances are slim." Luna explained.

Louis put his hand on her shoulder as they stopped, "don't worry, all you need to do is grab your friend and run, there's a bloodspring a mile from where this tunnel leads out. I'll deal with anyone that tries to go after you." he explained, Louis had dealt with those types of Revenants before.

"Absolutely not," she didn't hesitate to shut down his plan. "I'm not gonna run, if anything I'll fight those guys."

"Luna, you're still not completely healed. If you take any more damage, you'll not only be putting yourself at risk but also your chances of escaping." She pulled away from him, as she walked ahead of him.

"Well I'm not gonna let you risk your life to save two women that you don't even know," Luna said to him. "So either let me fight or stay out of my way," she pointed the blade of her bayonet at him.

He shook his head, she was stubborn. "Fine, but on one condition. If you insist on fighting them then I won't stop you, but if it becomes too much for you to handle then you need to fall back. I'll meet you at the bloodspring." Louis held his hand out, "do we have a deal?"

She grabbed his hand, she didn't like the agreement but it was better than her just leaving him to face a small army by himself. "Deal." she agreed as they continued along. There was something she couldn't shake about him. He went out of his way to help her even after she threatened him, and was willing to do anything to ensure her and Io's escape.

Louis noticed the look in her eyes, "is something wrong?"

She was hesitant, "Louis…. Why did you come here?" Luna asked him. It bothered her that he was by himself down in the cave, and that they hadn't encountered any of the Lost. "I'm grateful that you're willing to help me, but I just find it suspicious that…." Her words trailed off as they could see the exit insight.

"We made it."

What she was about to say to him didn't matter anymore, Luna took off leaving Louis behind in the tunnel "Io! I'm coming!"

Luna ran towards the light as Louis followed close behind her. Squinting her eyes, the warmth of the light embraced her. The ground beneath her felt very unstable, her eyes widening in shock. Numerous Revenants slowly turned to ash as she could see a couple of them were the same ones holding Io hostage. Looking at the center of the open space she could see Io laying unconscious as a figure hunched over her. "Wait ...thats-!" She ran over to them, "Oliver!" she shouted his name. She reached her hand towards him, as she could sense that something was very wrong, "what's the matter? How did you pass us?"

Piercing red eyes burned into her, as he was violently shaking. The pain filled grunts echoed in her ears as she felt like everything was slowing down. Oliver tightened his grip around the handle of his sledgehammer, lifting it high above his head, bringing it down towards Luna. She knew she had to move, but her body felt like ice; frozen and unable to move or speak.

**Clang!**

Opening her eyes, Luna saw Louis stand before, as Oliver staggered back. "Grab your friend, I'll keep him busy!" Louis commanded her. Luna could feel herself regaining control of her body, as she rushed over to Io. Using her strength she managed to pick Io up as she rushed her away from Oliver.

Carefully laying Io down, she turned to see Louis have the upper hand on Oliver. A blood curdling scream spilled from Oliver's lips, it didn't sound human anymore the very sound of his scream shook her to her core. She could see her sword close to Oliver, as Louis managed to knock him back a distance. Luna sprinted towards her weapon, grabbing the hilt of her blade Oliver charged towards her; without thinking Luna slashed diagonally upward across Oliver's chest, dark crimson red blood spilled from his wound.

Jumping back she and Louis watched as Oliver placed his hand over the fresh wound, blood covering his hand. "What's going on?" she questioned.

"Once someone has joined the ranks of the Lost, they can never come back." Louis told her, he raised his crimson blade. "The only thing we can do, is to put an end to his suffering."

Taking a deep breath, Luna clenched the hilt of her sword. _"Oliver, I'm sorry I didn't do anything to stop this, I could have prevented you from succumbing to this terrible fate. But don't worry this will all be over soon."_

"_**Rahhh!" **_Oliver let out another monstrous scream, he charged towards them. Both of them rushed towards him as both slashed him. Luna could see the dark blood dripping off of her blade, though Oliver didn't stop. Jumping up he used the momentum of his hammer as he aimed it downwards towards Luna. Jumping out of the way fragments of concrete and stone shot towards her, she flinched as the razor sharp shards cut into her skin.

The second her feet touched the ground she dashed towards him, his attention turning towards Louis. Managing to get behind him, Luna managed to get a couple slashes across his back, each cut leaked out more and more blood that was being absorbed into his tattered clothing.

"Get back!" Louis told her, as a blast of fire hit Oliver, he charged towards Louis swinging his sledgehammer. Dodging each one of Oliver's multiple swings with ease, Louis parried him giving him an opening to attack, as he managed to knock Oliver back.

Oliver staggered to his feet, Luna raised her hand up as she concentrated her energy into the palm of her hand. A large ball of fire launched towards him. "My turn!" she shouted, directing Oliver's attention back to her. He locked onto her, Luna jumped back giving herself some distance between her and Oliver as he ran towards her.

His swings were getting faster as she managed to dodge each one of his attacks with ease. His eyes locked onto her, each one of her moves were precise with a subtle elegance that could only be matched by the leathiness of her strikes. Luna could see Oliver charing up for an attack, jumping back she tried to give her some distance to plan her next move; she barely placed her foot down as the unevenness of the ground below her caught her off balance as she felt herself falling backwards. Oliver swung his hammer towards her, bringing her bayonet up to her side she managed to shield herself from his attack.

Feeling the impact of his attack Luna could feel the sheer strength behind it shake her to her very core, the grip around her bayonet loosened. Louis could only watch as Luna was sent flying to the other side of the battlefield by Oliver; her body slamming into the broken concrete wall. Broken pieces of cement dusted onto her body. "Luna!" he watched Oliver walk towards her, the deep maniacal laughter slipping through his lips.

Running towards Luna's bayonet, he grabbed the hilt of the weapon. Red eyes locked onto Luna, like a predator about to kill its prey, raising his sledgehammer high above his head. Slowly pushing herself up, Luna could feel a shadow cast over her. Looking up she could see Oliver before her, the strength she once had faded, she couldn't move a muscle. The glimmer of the setting sun hit the flattened edge of Oliver's sledgehammer; she could see in those red eyes of his a glint of joy. _"Is this it?"_

"Luna!" Louis shouted her name, as he charged towards Oliver. Her purple eyes watched as the once silver tip of her bayonet was painted black as it pierced through Oliver's chest. Luna intently watched, despite feeling the cold liquid drip onto her face. Using the strength in his right arm, Louis slashed through him; drowning out the screams of agony that spilled from his enemy. Oliver's body dropped to the shattered ground, Louis didn't hesitate as he grabbed Luna and pulled her up onto her feet. "You ok?" he asked her.

Shaking her head, "barely." she told him. Louis kept an arm around Luna as he helped her make their way back to where they hid Io. Each step she took, Luna could feel the pain sting deeper and deeper into her. Louis walked at a slow pace so she didn't lose her balance. "I owe you one," she said to him as he chuckled.

"Don't worry about it."

An icy chill ran down their spines, something didn't feel right to them. Both of them looked back to where Oliver's body had fallen, a thick black mist spilled around his un-moving form. "What the hell is going on?" Luna questioned. They both watched as the dark thick mist spilled from Oliver's once unresponsive body, as he began convulsing almost like jolts of electricity were being pumped into him. "What's going on?"

His once pale skin turned black, his body began expanding as the sounds of bones breaking were barely muffled by his pain filled screams. The mist was being pulled back into him, as Oliver grew to almost three times his height; hid body seemed to be engorged by the mist as each step he took shook the very ground. Luna was horrified by the transformation he had undergone, he truly looked to be a beast.

Devoid of thought, lost in a sea of darkness and the need to fulfill his blood lust; Louis had seen this many times before. He changed his gaze over to Luna, he knew there was one way to ensure her safety. "Luna, you need to get your friend and run. You can't fight in your condition." he told her. He knew how bad the situation had become. He could see the beasts eyes lock onto them, it was ready to strike at any moment. "Luna, go now!"

Louis charged towards the beast leaving her behind. She knew she couldn't fight the beast, even if she did have the strength, she could only be a spectator to the show. Her body couldn't even move, it just refused. "No…." she watched Louis as he fought the newly transformed Oliver. He was giving it his all, but she knew that he had to be close to his own limit. "You'll die…." she whispered. "I don't want anyone else to die."

"_**So fight." **_a voice spoke in her head, it sounded so familiar but something about it felt strange.

"_How can I fight? I have no strength."_

"_**If you don't fight, you're just letting them die…. Think about it, if you don't they will both die."**_

Luna wanted to protect them, she already felt the painful guilt eating at her for not saving Oliver from becoming a monster when she had the chance. Now a kind stranger was willing to sacrifice himself to help her. "No. No one else is going to suffer."

"_**Prove it…. Fight."**_

A surge of energy flowed within her, the pain that once ravaged her body was gone as if she was never hurt,though she could help but feel that something different stirring up inside of her. The whites of her eyes turned black, as her purple irises turned a royal blue color. She could see Louis had taken far too much damage, as she locked onto the monster. Luna charged towards the back of the monster, the beast raised up its sledgehammer. Grabbing her bayonet that was still lodged into the monster she pulled the trigger as it screamed in agony.

Pulling her weapon from its body, she could feel drops of the cold blood hit her face. The monster locked onto her, reaching its hand towards her. Digging her heels deep into its chest Luna launched herself upward, grabbing the base of her bayonet she pointed it downward as she feel down towards it. Feeling the blade piercing the monster's skull Luna concentrated all of her energy into her weapon, as she pulled the trigger.

The sound of the blast echoed in their fighting space as the beast began to drop to its knees, she landed before the beast; a single red eye gazing at her. Holding out her hand she forced the energy surging in her veins to it as a large ball of fire began to form. Her transformed eyes locked onto it, Luna shot the blast of fire at it as its body was consumed by flames. The pain filled screams verberated in her ears, the beast's body slowly turned to ash as the large sledge hammer it once held slammed into the ground. The darkness in her eyes faded away as her irises returned back to purple.

Luna could feel her body take the damaged she sustained all over again as she could feel her legs give out from under her. She could feel a pair of arms catch her, barely keeping her eyes open she could see Louis looking down at her. He held her in his arms, as he could clearly see that she was exhausted. "Luna….."

"Louis…. What happened?" she asked him, as she felt like she was in a daze. Looking around, Luna could see that the monster that Oliver had turned into was now gone, though his weapon still remained; fixated in the ground like a headstone for her comrade that she only knew for a short time. "Is Io ok?" she questioned, forcing herself to sit up as the nerves and muscles in her body were screaming at her to rest.

"Don't force yourself to move!" Louis told her, as she slowly made her way back to where they had left Io. He followed her as Luna gently shook her friend, golden eyes looked up at her in curiosity as she looked around. "She's alright." Luna held Io's hand, she finally felt at ease after the ordeal they had gone through. "By the way-"

"**All Revenants must pay a levy ...there are no exceptions."**

Luna and Io could hear an unfamiliar male voice speak, as they slowly walked back to the battlefield. Looking down at the ground, she saw it. The spike filled center was a deep crimson shade of red, the ends of it faded into a light purple hue as the spike gem radiated a red mist from it.

"It's a vestige, it's best if you stay away from those. Anyone who dares touching one of those turns into one of the Lost." Louis explained. Luna couldn't look away. There was something about this vestige that was intriguing to her.

"**Someone has to be sacrificed." **Her eyes widened as she could hear Oliver's voice speak from the vestige. **"Without blood beads we won't make it."**

"Take it easy for a moment, but we should consider leaving here soon." Louis instructed them, as watched as Luna's hand was barely an inch away from the vestige. "Wait…. What are you?!-" numerous spikes pierced her gloved hand as he could hear her pain filled cries. "Luna let go of it!"

Tightening her grip around the stone Luna could feel a hand on her back, petting her. "It's alright, you can do it." she heard Io calmly tell her. The searing pain was starting to fade as they could all see a light blue light surrounding the vestige. The light was starting to grow bigger and bigger as they were all consumed by the bright light.

* * *

Luna opened her eyes. She could see that both Io and Louis were at her side as they appeared to be in a different part of the city. It was dark, but somehow she felt at peace. Looking at the stone path before her, she could see a red lantern dimly illuminating the path. "What is this place?" she quietly questioned, as she walked towards the lanturn. As she grew closer to it, she could see Oliver standing before two heavily armored men. "Oliver?"

"**Please let us keep them just this once. We won't survive if you take them." **she could hear Oliver begging.

"**All Revenants must pay a levy, there are no exceptions. Sorry." **one of the soldiers said to him. She watched them fade away as the light from the lanturn turned off, as another a distance away lit up. Approaching the next lanturn she could see Oliver standing before a withered blood spring, she could see the despair in his face. The sound of a child calling out to its parents echoed in the darkness.

"**Someone has to be sacrificed. Without blood beads we won't make it."**

Turning to the next lanturn, Luna ran to it as she could see Oliver before the arrogant Revenant leader who took her and Io hostage.

"**The few humans that remain are under Silva's control. Wandering Revenants like ourselves are forced to hunt for blood beads or face death. Even if some Revenants must be sacrificed for our survival." **

Hearing those words from that bastards mouth made Luna's blood boil as she made a fist with her right hand. She knew that man was selfish, she couldn't imagine what kind of horrors he had subjected his prisoners to just so he could ensure his own 'survival'.

Looking towards another lantern Luna could see Oliver. Just as he was when she last saw him, his back leaning against the rocks of the cave.

"**Well I guess you reap what you sow, right?" **he said to himself, his breathing was heavy. **"Luna…. I know you'll make it out to save your friend. In the end I'm happy to know that what I did was enough to help you survive." **A tear dropped from her eye.

"Io…. what is this place?"Luna questioned once again.

"This is a memory echo, a place where lost memories still wonder."

"These are the memories of one of the lost…." they could hear Louis whisper as he was shocked by what he was seeing himself.

"Let us leave, I believe that door will take us back." she told her, as they could see a large Senate door forming in front of them. Walking up the steps the door opened wide as the bright white light from once before consumed them again.

* * *

Putting a hand to his head, Louis looked at both Luna and Io. "What the hell was that?"

"It was a memory, carved into that vestige by the one who left it behind." Io answered him.

"I didn't think I would get dragged into too."

Luna inspected her hand as she could see no marks or blood. It was perfectly fine. "We were pulled into it with you." she heard Io speak.

"Luna….. What a power you possess." Louis said to her, as he offered her his hand. "Come with me, I know a place where we can rest." he told her as she took his hand. She only stood on her feet for a second as everything went black. Io and Louis caught her as they could see that was unconscious. "Hey Luna! Luna!"

"She's pushed herself too far, she's still weak after her awakening." Io said.

"Come on, let's get going!" Louis instructed Io, as he held Luna in his arms as he lead the way with Io right behind him.


	3. Chats

Standing on the open balcony like space, Louis looked out at the wasteland that once used to be a thriving city. Skyscrapers that once stood tall and proud were reduced to rubble. Large sections of ground that were connected as sidewalks and streets were broken or had collapsed to form the various large pits that surround most of the City Ruins. In the distance he could see the wall of red mist still standing, as it never waivered even for a day.

"Louis." a woman's voice spoke his name. Turning around he could see the small teenage girl standing behind him. Her ginger hair was pulled into a ponytail, as her red eyes had slight bags under them. Half of her face was covered by her purifier mask. The half jacket she wore matched her shorts, as her camouflage designed top covered her revealing top as the dark tattoo on her left side was clearly shown. "I finished treating her wounds, but she's still asleep." she told him.

"Are any of her wounds serious?"

"It doesn't look like it. She has severe bruising and cuts on her arms along with some minor cuts, she may have a couple of broken rib bones, but that's just the worst of it." she told him.

"Thanks Murasame, I'll go check on her myself in a minute. Why don't you get some rest?" he suggested as he knew that she had spent the better half of last night treating both Luna and Io from any injuries that they had suffered.

"I will soon, but first I want to wash and fix her clothes that way when she wakes up she won't have to worry." she explained to him.

Louis smiled. "I'm sure Luna would appreciate that." he told her as he started walking towards the back of their hideout. Stopping for a moment, Louis glanced at the bed that was in the corner of their lounge like space as he could see Io still sleeping in the bed. _"She must have been up all night with Murasame, worrying about Luna." _he thought to himself as he continued on his way.

Turning down the hall, Louis stopped before the second door on the left. His hand carefully turned the door knob, as he quietly opened the door. Looking inside he saw Luna was still asleep, he slowly walked towards her as he pulled the chair from the table close to the bed. Sitting at her bedside, Louis saw the bandages were wrapped around her neck and down her arms, as they were also wrapped around her chest. He could see that Murasame had changed her clothes as a loose fitting blank tank top covered her upper body. Luna's black and silver hair was all pulled together into a ponytail.

Grabbing the blanket that lay just at her hips he pulled it up to her neck, as she didn't move or anything. The peaceful look on her face, just gazing at her created a warm feeling surged in his chest. "I wonder how long you'll sleep for?" he questioned as he didn't expect an answer. From what he learned from Io, she had just woken when the two found each other. Though to him it was surprising that Io said that her full strength had yet to return to her.

"So this is the other babe you brought to our hideout." he heard his friend's voice speak. Looking towards the empty doorway Louis saw his red haired friend leaving against the door frame. Arms crossed in front of his chest, his lime green eyes looking over at Luna. "Got a say I'm a bit surprised you brought two good looking gals here." he said to Louis, as he could see that his friend wasn't amused.

"If you want to talk Yakumo, then I suggest we take this conversation out of here. I don't want to risk waking her up." Louis suggested, as he stood up from his seat.

Shaking his head, "relax from the looks of things, she wouldn't wake up even if you wanted her too. Yakumo examined the amount of bandages that Murasame had used to treat the unconscious woman, "she's had it pretty rough. You'd think being a Revenant most of our injuries would heal up pretty fast, but it's not that simple."

"Luckily for her the worst of it appears to be just a couple of broken ribs." Louis said, Yakumo could see a look in Louis's eyes that he hadn't seen before. Like a pain filled joy, he could see the glimmer of happiness in Louis's red eyes, but that were masked by sorrow. "When she wakes up I plan to-"

"It's her."

Louis was stunned. "What are you talking about?"

A grin adorned Yakumo's face. "You finally found her, took you long enough Louis." Walking over to his friend, Yakumo patted him on the back, "this is great, you've been looking for her for so long. We should all have a drink to celebrate." he cheered as he was about to walk out of the room.

"Yakumo, stop."

"Why? This is great! We need to let the whole crew know."

"She doesn't remember…. anything." Louis said, as Yakumo stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember?" he questioned. "She didn't remember you at all when you found her?"

Shaking his head, "no. When I found her, she pointed her weapon directly at me and was ready to kill me if necessary."

"Does she even know who she is?"

"As far as I'm aware she only knows her name."

* * *

_Luna could feel the sun hitting her skin, as she basked in the sunlight. The light gentle breeze of the summer air kissed her skin as the grass and trees danced in the wind. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear she couldn't help but feel that something was off. Despite the bliss tranquil surroundings she found herself in she knew that something was wrong. She had been sitting in this space for quite some time; she didn't even know how she managed to get here. _

_All she could remember was that she, Io, and Louis were pulled into a memory echo and then when she tried to stand she blacked out. Luna knew that she wasn't in her physical body, but something about this space made her feel like it was some sort of different reality. Holding her knees close to her chest Luna could feel the ends of her white dress flicker with the wind._

_Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, Luna glanced over her shoulder as she could see the white haired girl from before standing there. "It's you."_

_Nodding her head, "good to see you again." the woman spoke to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked as the white haired girl sat down beside her._

"_I feel fine." she answered her, "tell me, do you know what happened to me?"_

_The girl nodded her head, "you pushed yourself beyond your physical limits, you need to take it easy since you've awoken from your slumber. Your physical body has been recovering since you arrived here, you've been asleep for days." the girl answered her._

"_Days? Wow…" Luna whispered. Something dawned on Luna, "is this like part of my mind?"_

"_In a way yes."_

"_So why are you here?" she asked as she could feel the warmth that once surrounding her fading away as a chill ran up her spine. "Who are you?" she asked the girl, as she could see her red eyes were fixed on something ahead of her._

_Looking out into the bleak whiteness that surrounded them, Luna couldn't imagine what she could be seeing. "You may not know me, but I know exactly who you are…." the girl spoke, as Luna watched the ground below her turn to stone, the ground was broken and cracked as a dark aura spilled from the grounds openings. as she could feel something warm coating her hands. _

_Her white dress felt heavy as searing pain slowly dragged across her back, Luna screamed in pain. She could see the blood from the sudden wound drip down to the front of the dress, looking down at her right hand she could see they were coated in blood but it wasn't crimson. It was a deep blue color. Looking back over at the girl, Luna could see her standing before her. Her once crimson eyes were now glowing bright blue as the whites of her eyes had turned black. "Who are you?"_

"_You'll remember me soon enough." Numerous white spears manifested behind the white haired girl, she didn't speak. She stood before Luna, mesmerized as she launched the barrage of spikes at Luna._

* * *

Sitting up in the bed, Luna took deep breaths as she could feel a cold sweat over her body. Managing to catch her breath, Luna looked down at her arms as she could see that they were wrapped with bandages. Her fingers tugged at the black tank top that she now adorned, feeling a softness under her she could see that she had been laying a fairly large bed.

The sheets that once covered her were in a pile at the side of the bed. She could see that even parts of her legs were bandages as well and that her black denim shorts were replaced with a pair of loose fitting black shorts. "Where am I… and where are my clothes?" she questioned, as the tie that held her hair up fell out leaving her long locks of black and silver hair to cascade down her back.

"That girl….." Luna whispered to herself. She had only seen that white haired girl a few times but only when she was unconscious; searching her mind Luna couldn't remember anything about her or how she even knew her. "She said I'll remember her." recalling the girl's last words to her Luna felt an icy chill run down her back in the same place where the wound had appeared on her, part of her wanted to know why she would say that to her though, something else accompanied the need of wanting to know, a sense of dread.

Looking around the room, Luna could see a small wooden desk next to the bed with the chair moved closer to the bed. A large dark wooden dresser was in the corner of the room, as the two wall mount lights were left on. Her hand carefully reached for the white satin curtain as she moved it slightly to see out the window; night had fallen as the sky was pitch black though she could see a bright red hue in the distance. "That's peculiar." she said to herself as she got out of the bed.

Carefully walking toward the door, Luna felt a brief way of pins from her toes up to her thighs though it faded away as fast as she felt it. Grabbing the door knob, Luna quietly opened the wooden door as she peaked her head out. She couldn't hear any voices or any movement as it appeared all the other doors were locked shut. "I guess everyone's asleep." she whispered to herself. The cold wooden floor didn't squeak as she tiptoed down the hallway, looking to her right she could see a pinkish-red light illuminating a small corridor as a large metal door hid whatever was behind it.

To her left she could see a black car with various boxes opened and closed, as it appeared to be holding various types of supplies. The floor changed from wood to stone tiles, she could see what appeared to be a lounge-like area with different types of chairs and couches as a large wooden crate served as a table with different types of magazines on it. Different boards were up to the side of the room, as the one with the large map was covered with pieces of paper and red string.

"Mmhm…." Luna turned towards the sound, her eyes widening with joy as she saw Io peacefully sleeping in the small bed. The blanket over her was pulled up to her neck, as she appeared to be in a deep slumber.

"Io…." Luna walked towards her, as she reached her hand out towards her. Stopping herself Luna shook her head, she knew she shouldn't wake her up she needed to rest as much as she wanted to after everything that happened. Feeling a presence behind her, Luna glanced over her shoulder.

Louis stood at the base of the steps of the lounge, his un-tucked white dress shirt was held shut by one single button, a single hand brushing his hair back. "Louis…." he motioned for Luna to follow him. Quietly catching up with him, Luna followed him down the hallway as they made their way to the last door on the right. Opening the door, she cautiously walked into Louis's room, looking over at his bed she could already tell that it was bigger than hers but wasn't surprised. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't wake you." Luna apologized. As Louis shut the door behind them.

"You didn't I was up anyway, I was going to check on you but when I saw your door open I…. I just wanted to make sure you weren't pushing yourself." he told her. She could see various books were open and sprawled across his bed. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked her.

Nodding her head, "a little stiff, but other than that I'm feeling fine." she answered him as she examined the various books on Louis's desk before turning her attention back to him. "Tell me how long was I asleep for?" she asked him.

"About five days."

Luna wasn't surprised, but didn't know why it only felt like minutes when she was with that white haired girl. _"Could time be moving differently in that place?" _she thought to herself. "And where exactly are we?"

"This place is the base for my team and I, we stumbled upon it years ago and managed to clear all the Lost out of here. It's a safe haven for us, a place where we know we can relax and not have to worry about the horrors outside." he told her, as he sat down on his bed.

"I see, well…." Luna didn't want to ask to stay. She felt like she was already imposing as it was, it didn't feel like it was her place to ask. "Once Io wakes up, I think it'd be best if we took our leave. I'm grateful for everything you've done for us, I can't thank you enough Louis." she told him.

Louis was surprised to hear Luna say that, "you don't have to leave." he said to her. "We have plenty of space for you and Io if that's what you're concerned about. Besides, with everything that's going on in our world it's best if we all stay together."

"What do you mean?"

"Luna…. How much do you remember?" Louis had to know for himself the severity of her memory loss, he wanted to wait for a better time but the past few days his own curiosity was getting to him.

Looking down at the ground, "I know my name…. And that I'm a Revenant, but that's really about it." she started as she hesitantly looked back to Louis. "I tried to remember anything, but I can't. I don't know how I ended up where I did or what I really can do in terms of fighting. To be honest with you I don't even know if I want those memories back."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to see who I once was, or what I could have done in the past. If I want to remember my life as a human before becoming a Revenant, remembering anyone close to me…. The thought of it all. It scares me." Luna explained.

"I think what you're feeling is how everyone feels. They want to know but are scared of the truth, no one can push you to remember if you don't want to. This may be my opinion but having memories of the past are as meaningful as they are painful. They're a sense of sanity and stability that helps us push forward for everyday we are alive." Louis said to her.

Luna couldn't help but smile, "that's a lovely way to look at it."

"I'm glad you agree."he said to her as she nodded her head.

"Well I'll let you get some sleep. We can continue our conversation in the morning." Luna turned towards the door, reaching for the knob.

"Wait." Louis stopped her. "When I asked how you were feeling…. I didn't just mean about your injuries, I meant are you feeling ok?" He explained to her as he approached her. "With how long you've been asleep, and the severity of your wounds I've been worried that you could potentially frenzy."

Putting her hand to her throat, Luna noticed a slight tingle. A craving. Like how someone would crave a sip of water after a period of time. She had noticed it when she had awoke. "Now that you mention that, I do feel a tiny bit thirsty. It's not terrible but I'm sure that it'll go away."

"It won't." Louis spoke, walking over to his desk he opened the top drawer. Luna watched him as he pulled a blood bead from it before handing it to her. "That's the first sign that you need to consume one of these. If you don't then that thirst will slowly start to consume you, both physically and mentally after that well…. You saw for yourself. You turn into one of the Lost."

Luna took the blood bead from Louis, it fit perfectly in her hand. "But….. my mask….. It wasn't damaged."

"The mask you had was an old type, those types can only do so much. Prolonged exposure to the miasma will do that as well. You should know that's the main reason why we need to wear our masks." Louis could see the sad look in her eyes. "Luna, drink that and go back to bed." he told her as she nodded her head.

"I will….." she said, as she opened the door and left Louis's room. Making her way back to the room she had awoken in, Luna quietly shut the door. Her eyes watched the sparkling petals of red dance in the teardrop gem. This was their way of survival, a way to save themselves from losing their sanity and becoming monsters who craved blood that would go to any lengths to satisfy an never ending thirst. "He gave me this without a second thought…." looking down at the desk in her room, Luna approached it as she opened the top drawer. "Even though I have my own stash of blood beads…." the same beige bag that she was ordered to fill to buy back her's and Io's freedom lay in the drawer, it looks as if no one had taken anything from it.

"_Find the one with a kind heart and a pain filled soul that you'll find the truth."_

Those words danced in her mind as the girl with white hair had told her that before she entered back into their apocalyptic world. "Louis…. Are you the one she wanted me to find?"

* * *

His red eyes looked upon the printed words in the book, but he didn't read a single one. Closing the book, Louis laid back in his bed. Digging into his pocket he pulled out the locket, tracing the detailed engraving on the back of the heart shaped pendant.

He wanted to tell her everything, about what he remembered about her. But she wasn't ready. Louis respected her decision.

Taking a deep breath he reflected in the conversation he had with Yakumo earlier today.

_"She still isn't awake yet?" Yakumo asked him, as he could see Louis sitting by the side of her bed. "It's been five days, it's like she's hibernating." They both knew that a major concern was brewing amongst the others. "She might frenzy if she doesn't wake up soon."_

_Nodding his head. "I know."_

"_Murasame is worried. She inspected the mask your girl had, it's one of the original models that was given to Revenants during Operation Queenslayer. She's basically been inhaling miasma." Yakumo informed Louis. "I'm surprised she hasn't joined the Lost already. She's gotta be something else to be able to last this long."_

"_We'll just have to keep a closer eye on her from now on until she wakes up." Louis said._

_Yakumo could see the tired look in Louis's eyes, he knew that his friend hadn't been sleeping for the last couple of days. Walking over to him, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to tell her everything when she wakes up. Even if she doesn't remember you or anything, it wouldn't do both of you any good by holding back the truth." _

"_I know."_

"_I remember when you told me that you were looking for her. Even though she's here now, I still can't believe it took so many years for you to find her." Yakumo recalled in his mind the day Louis finally told him that he was searching for someone he knew when he was still a human. "I'm not gonna lie…. I didn't think you'd actually find her."_

_Standing up, "but that also means there's a chance we can find your friends as well." _

_Yakumo chuckled. "Good point. We both woke up only to be searching for those closest to us, while at the same time trying to find the source so we can ensure the survival for all us Revenants. At least now we'll have some extra help."_

Louis knew that with her abilities Luna would be a major help with their research, though even her abilities were something he knew he had to look into. A Revenant with the ability to revitalize bloodsprings and can make contact with vestiges without becoming one of the Lost.

Luna was a mystery.

"To think you possess such powers…." he said. Taking a deep breath, he clenched the locket in his fist. "I'm sorry, but I won't tell you yet…. Not until you're ready." he knew it was for the best for now. There were other things they needed to figure out first before he told her the truth about herself.


	4. Discovery

Sorry for the wait! I lost my thought train on this and then it hit me again! I'll try to keep updating as much as I can, but with everything going on right now in my life it's pretty chaotic. I hope you guys understand and thanks for your patience for this update!

* * *

Luna couldn't sleep much after her brief chat with Louis, looking out the window she could see the sun was starting to rise. Numerous questions circled in her head, looking down at the empty shell of the blood bead she placed it on the desk. Rubbing her bandaged arms, she noticed that she didn't feel pain. "I guess I should take these off." Luna said to herself.

A pile of bandages lay on the table as she carefully inspected herself in the mirror, the bruises that she felt on her arms days before were now gone along with any cuts and scrapes she had gotten from the countless fights she had encountered with the Lost. Lifting up the tank top, Luna could see it. A large dark purple mark, she knew where it was from. Her fingers gently touched the mark as it appeared to span from the top of her hip and along her side.

Walking out of her room, she quietly made her way back to the main area. The light from the rising sun poured into the room from the large hole in the wall. She could see that Io was still sleeping, as she looked around. Next to the balcony was a bar-like area, chairs were pushed up against the bar as countless bottles of liquor lined the shelves. Next to that was a space filled with books, Luna looked at the various different pieces of literature as she could see there were piles and piles of them surrounding the dark wood desk.

Looking behind her, she could see a white motorcycle propped up against the wall next to something that caught her attention. A large vault door looked to be open, carefully walking around Luna could see numerous weapons inside and out of the vault all on racks. Different types of bayonets and swords, large two handed blades and even sledgehammers. "This is amazing…." Luna spoke, she could see each weapon had its own shimmer to it; clearly they were all being maintained. "Someone must have put a lot of time into taking care of all these weapons."

Hearing a rustling sound Luna turned her attention toward the noise. Io slowly sat up in the bed as her weary eyes looked around for a bit until she spotted her. "You're awake." She could see that the black hooded scarf was still on her.

Running over to her, Luna kneeled down. "Io! Are you ok?" she started, as Io looked at her in surprise. "What happened while I was down in that tunnel? What did they do to you?" Luna questioned, she didn't get a chance to ask Io what had happened after everything that happened with Oliver.

"They didn't do anything to me." she answered her. "While you were down there, another Revenant appeared and killed the people that forced you down there. I can remember something hitting my head and knocking me out, then I saw you." Io explained.

Taking a deep breath, Luna could feel the anxiety of the unknown fade. Looking around she could see that no one else was awake yet. "Did they take care of you while I was asleep?"

Nodding her head. "Yes." It was a simple answer, but it helped ease any worry or concern Luna had of the others that stayed here. "Your wounds…. They're all healed." Io said, as she could see the bruises and cuts that Luna had endured were now gone.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry if I worried you….." Luna started. "Io…. That vestige…. How did you know I wasn't going to be consumed by it? And when we first met, how did you know my blood could revitalize blood springs?" Luna questioned. She needed to know how Io new about our powers. "What do you know about me?"

Io looked at her in curiosity. "I don't know." she answered.

Luna shook her head, "you don't know."

"No. All I know is that my name and that I'm to be at your side." Io said.

"My side?"

"I don't know what it means, it was simply decided."

Standing up, "Io that doesn't make sense. Someone would have to order you to do that. Do you remember who told you to do it?"

Shaking her head. "No."

Luna sighed. "So I guess both you and I are in the same department when it comes to memory loss. We don't remember anything except our names." Just trying to process everything was a struggle for her. Here they were, both awake in what one could only describe as a real life hell. Needing to fight in order to survive; while the everlingering thought of losing themselves was a very real possibility.

Walking out onto the balcony, Io followed closely behind her as they both looked out over the view. Buildings and skyscrapers that onced towered in the skies were reduced to rubble. Large black thorns glowed with splinters of yellow, pierced the Earth in various locations. Looking around they could both see parts of the once concrete ground had fallen in, giving way to numerous dark pits that one would be falling in forever if they fell in. The fading sounds of the Lost crying out in the city, screaming for salvation could be heard from where they stood. Behind it all was the red aura Luna saw the other night, it stood taller than any of the demolished buildings as it appeared to span out a large distance.

"Ugly. Isn't it?" Luna turned towards Louis's voice as he walked up to the women. "The red mist appeared after the Queen was defeated. When it did, it trapped everything and everyone inside, giving rise to the society of Revenants ruled by Silva. Over the years it's been known as the Gaol of the Mists by those who lived inside. The Lost monsters we fight are trapped in a never ending cycle of death and rebirth always searching for a way to sustain themselves."

"You mean the blood beads?" Luna questioned.

"Yes. Like I explained to you last night without them Revenants would join the ranks of the Lost. It's because of that reason that both of you were captured and forced to hunt for blood beads, your captors were terrified of losing themselves, unfortunately it's a common fate these days."

"I see."

Louis could see the sorrow in Luna's face. "But now…." Louis stopped himself. He could see her processing the scene before her. The horror and devastation, she must have known how bad their world was but did she truly forget what their world looked like.

"But now what?" Io asked.

"Umm…." Louis paused. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing." He knew there was plenty of time for them to talk, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "Luna, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Shaking her head. "Not all."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to get a sample of your blood." he said.

Luna was surprised by the request, she didn't know what to say as she remained silent for a moment. "I guess that would be ok, but why do you need it?" she questioned as she grabbed her right arm. The thought of a needle piercing her skin to draw blood made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"I would like to analyze it. You mentioned that you don't know why your blood can revitalize blood springs or restore mistles, I would like to see if I can find the answers for you." Louis said. He could see that she was hesitant, as she nodded her head. "Come with me and I'll get the sample from you."

"Alright," turning towards Io. "I'll be right back." she said as she followed Louis back down towards his room. "You could have asked me last night." she said, as she sat down on the edge of his bed, watching him go through the drawers of his desk as he pulled out a small syringe.

"To be honest I didn't really think about it until after you went back to your room," he told her. Kneeling down beside her, he carefully grabbed hold of her arm, searching for a vein. "Just relax, I'll make this quick." Taking a deep breath, Luna looked away as she could feel the needle piercing into her skin. The painful discomfort in her arm slowly built as Louis began extracting a sample of her blood. Pulling the needle from her, he quickly applied slight pressure to the puncture wound. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he joked.

"The thought of needles just doesn't sit right with me." Luna spoke, as she got up from his bed.

Louis chuckled, "you didn't say anything when we were in the tunnels."

"Well I was poisoned and weak, I didn't even feel it.." She knew that was a lie. The feeling of those serums being injected in her caused goosebumps to cover her arms.

"It'll take me awhile to finish analyzing your blood, for now go take it easy. I'm sure everyone will be up in a bit so you can chat with them if you like." Louis suggested as he grabbed the necessary supplies needed to start his research.

"Everyone?"

"Don't worry, they're nice." he told her, as he could see the worried look on her face. Louis had a feeling that given everything that's happened, she might not be keen on talking to individuals she didn't know yet. "Why don't I introduce you to them before I start?" he suggested.

Raising her hands up, "that's fine you don't have to-"

Louis took her hands. Luna could feel something strange, as she felt his calloused hands over her own. It was a comforting feeling, so familiar and yet so foreign. "It's fine." he said to her, releasing her hands.

Nodding her head, Luna made her way to the door before briefly stopping. "Louis…. There's something that I need to ask you." she told him, they both locked eyes. "I find it suspicious that after you found me, we didn't encounter any Lost of enemies before reaching the surface…" she started. "There were enemies around every corner before we met, I can't help but wonder if you dispatched them by yourself before our paths crossed."

Louis knew he had to tell her the truth, he couldn't risk losing her trust right now. Not when he needed to keep it the most. "I was in the area that day…. I heard a woman screaming, when I found out where it was coming from I saw the Revenants that kept Io hostage had kicked you down into the Underground Ruins. I wanted to help, so I snuck down into the tunnels when they weren't paying attention-"

"And killed all the Lost along the way."

"Exactly. That way you'd still have a chance to get away."

Luna shook her head. "You could have gotten yourself killed…." she said. Though it was because of his actions that they were able to make it out. "But, I still can't thank you enough. If you hadn't done that I fear I would have died down there."

"Consider us even."

"Even?"

"You don't remember?" Louis asked. "When we were fighting that Lost, I was about to be killed by it, but somehow you managed to kill him. Your skills as a fighter are impressive, and it was because of those skills that I stand before you now."

Luna tried to remember what Louis was saying, she remembered fighting Oliver and that he had transformed into the Lost, but after Louis pulled her away from the fight it was a blur to her. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I can't say I remember that either."

Louis did find that interesting, "that's peculiar. Next time we go into combat I'll keep an eye on you."

"Alright." Luna said as she left his room, as Louis followed closely behind her. Walking back into the main area she could hear a few unfamiliar voices chatting, turning the corner she could see them. One was a young girl with short red hair that was pulled into a ponytail, she had on a purifier mask that covered about half of her face. From what she could see, she was wearing a camo half jacket that covered her black top with matching shorts. As she was talking to a few others, her glance shifted over to Luna.

"You're awake!" she could hear the girl cheer, as she rushed over to her. "You were out for days! I'm glad to see you're ok!" Luna took a step back. She didn't know who this girl was, but she gave off an incredible amount of positive energy. An energy she wasn't ready for. Feeling a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see Louis standing behind her nodding his head.

"Luna, this is Rin Murasame. Murasame helps provide and maintain our weapons for our explorations, she also helped tend to your wounds after I brought you here." Louis introduced her, "Murasame, Luna."

Taking a breath, "I appreciate what you did for me. Thank you." Luna thanked the girl, as she could see the cheerful look in her eyes. Looking around she could see the other two that Murasame and Io appeared to be conversing with. Feeling the man's gaze on her, his lime green eyes bore into her as he stood where he was.

"Luna, I'd like you to meet Coco and Yakumo." Louis introduced them, Luna waved her hand as the blonde haired woman approached her.

Standing a bit taller than Luna, the purple cape on her head appeared to have a silver emblem on it. Most of her upper body was exposed as the black and purple like sports shirt covered her chest. Dark grey leather jeans were tucked into her ankle high boots, "Louis have you stuck your head in another pot of trouble?" she questioned him, Luna could see that she appeared to be a bit older than most of the individuals here. "Either way it's nice to see a new face around here, Louis I need to talk with you for a minute." she told him, pulling him aside as Murasame and Io walked towards the large vault door.

Standing across from him, Luna could tell that he wasn't too sure of her. "What's your problem?" she questioned him.

Crossing his arms in front of his dark shirt covered chest, he shook his head, the portion of his bangs and red hair that was held back swayed with each turn. "That's my line." he answered her. Given the way he carried himself, Luna could tell he was a capable fighter. The faint stitch lines along his camo pants, scuffs covering his combat boots. The scar on the right side of his face caught her attention.

"I know you don't trust me." she said to him, as she took a few steps towards the area that Io and Murasame were.

"Call it what you want," he spoke. "All Revenants carry secrets with them, and you're no exception." he bluntly said to Luna. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, until we three have a nice little chat."

Stopping, "we three?"

"Just don't do anything funny in the meantime." he told her, walking away to a separate part of the hideout.

"_I guess not everyone here is so kind," _Luna thought to herself, but she couldn't blame him. Afterall she was just some stranger that Louis took in, despite her attacking him when they first encountered each other. Turning towards the balcony, she walked outside leaning against the concrete ledge. Looking out at the view, _"secrets, huh?" _she thought back to what Yakumo said to her. _"Even if that is true, I don't even remember any secrets that I had." _

Hours passed by, as Luna sat out on the ledge. She tried to think of anything that would help her to regain any piece of her memories, but nothing seemed to be working. Even trying to think back to the white haired woman she had seen, but even that didn't spark anything in her mind. The idle chatter in the background died down long ago, as she didn't believe anyone was around.

"_Will I ever remember who I once was?" _Luna questioned. She didn't care about her past, all she wanted was to know who she was. Was she a kind person? Or was she an ill tempered individual? What was her career? Where was she from? Despite thinking it was basic information for even some Revenants to have, it was something she desperately craved to know.

"Luna?" hearing Louis's voice, she turned as he and Yakumo stood a few feet from her. "Do you have a moment?"

Nodding her head, _"is this the talk Yakumo spoke of earlier?" _she followed them to the makeshift living room space. Yakumo leaned against the sofa, holding an apple in his hand. Keeping her attention on Louis they stood in silence for a brief moment.

"I did what I could to take a look at your blood and I confirmed some surprising things." Louis started, "All Revenants have unique blood types that differ from normal humans, it aids in our abilities, however, it appears that you don't have a specific type. More specifically, yours appears to be broken."

"Broken?"

"Yes, with your abilities and the fact that you have no specific blood code could be the cause of you being what we know as a Void type." he explained, "this type in particular has the unique ability to draw strength from Vestiges. Though it still doesn't explain how you're able to revitalize mistles and blood springs, but I have a theory."

Luna tried to wrap her head around the information she just learned, "mind explaining your theory?"

"It's not exactly concrete, but there was once a medicine made from the Queen's blood that was used to revive mistles. It's possible that your blood and the Queen's are of a similar compound in your blood that grants you the ability to do that." Louis told her. "Though it is still just a theory."

"I see."

The creaking of a door opening echoed in the space, as they all turned their attention towards the front door. Large, heavy white painted armor covered his large frame, scars along his dark skin face, his red eyes looking directly at them. The unknown man walked towards them, Luna took a step back. "Ah Davis, good to see you."

A smile pulling at his lips, "Likewise Louis, sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"It's quite alright."

Turning his attention to Luna. "You must be the Revenant Louis has been talking about," extending his hand. "I'm Davis, I work with the Provisional Government."

Taking his hand, they shook. "Nice to meet you, I'm Luna."

"Louis told me about you while you were still resting, he sees much potential in you." Davis told her, "I'm sorry you had to wake up to the chaos of this world. It must have been a terrible shock."

"I wouldn't say it was terrible, but hopefully I can help make a difference now that I have a chance." Luna replied.

"Good answer," Davis could see the glimmer of joy in Louis's eyes as he gazed upon Luna. He knew the situation between them, as he didn't mention anything. "Anyway I'm sorry for dropping by on short notice, but I'm here to pick up the levy." he said, looking back at Louis.

"I'll go get it," Yakumo said, as he walked towards the area where Murasame kept all the weapons.

"You may not know this, but the levy was put in place by Silva. The blood beads we take are distributed to other Revenants who need them, I know it's not ideal but…. It's my job." Davis briefly said.

"I see."

Luna remembered her captor mentioning a levy, from what she could recall a levy was a sort of tax that needed to be paid but from the sounds of it not many were able to sustain themselves due to it. "Luna, just as a fair warning, try to stay out of trouble." Davis advised her. "If you don't I won't be able to do my job, and well…. You get the picture."

"I understand."

Yakumo returned, handing Davis a large satchel. "Here."

Taking the satchel, "thanks, I'll be on my way now." Walking back towards the door, "I'll drop by soon to check on you guys." he waved goodbye, as he left.

Luna could tell that the satchel contained a substantial amount of blood beads, after seeing Oliver's memories of his struggle to sustain himself; the agony of seeing the one thing to keep your sanity be taken from you, to have fought for something to get minimal to no results just to have it disappear right before your eyes. Running towards her room, "hey, get back here!" Yakumo shouted.

Pushing the door wide open, Luna grabbed the bag that was left with her. Looking at it, it wasn't nearly as much as what Yakumo had given to Davis, but it was better than nothing. Rushing back over to them, "here take these!" She handed the bag to them.

Yakumo and Louis were both stunned, "Luna."

Holding his hand up, "we don't need them," Yakumo said to her. "We have enough for everyone, even after the levy."

"Regardless, please take them." Luna pushed, "think of it as my way of repaying you guys for taking care of Io and I," she tried to reason with them. Even though they claimed they had enough, she wanted to do what was right. "Please take them, I don't want to risk any of you becoming one of the Lost."

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Yakumo hesitantly took the bag from Luna's hands. "Luna…. As you may be aware at this point, stuff like that happens everyday." Louis spoke, "Silva has taken the remaining humans that are also trapped within the Gaol of the Mists under his protection, so Revenants like us rely on blood beads to slake our thirst. Unfortunately that won't last forever."

"So when they said that the bloodsprings were drying up they weren't kidding." Luna whispered, recalling the two withered bloodsprings that she had come across. Despite having the power now to revitalize them, she couldn't begin to imagine how long this issue had been hurting the other Revenants.

"As the springs began to dry up, blood beads became rarer and rarer to come across. No to mention the order that Silva placed in action, along with the levy won't hold out much longer either. The world needs more blood beads, it's then that we can stop this madness from continuing." Looking towards the map, "it's because of this, we've been exploring the Gaol of the Mists and researching the blood beads. But the miasma has been a terrible problem, it makes our thirst even worse, thus halting our research."

"That is a problem," Luna said. "So the miasma has been stopping you guys from making any further progress.

"That's correct, but now we may finally have the ability to continue our research. Your power was able to clear the miasma, if you help us…." Louis paused. He knew that having Luna's abilities would be beneficial to their research, but he knew there was still a high risk of losing her. Despite his feelings, he knew that this was his only chance. "You would be dragged into a bitter conflict, but to be honest we don't have a lot of hope without you." Holding out his hand, "Luna, will you join us?"

She didn't need to think about this, after seeing what happened to Oliver her mind was set. Taking his hand, "of course, I'll do anything I can to help."

He should have felt ecstatic, but the only emotion running through him was concern. Part of him wanted her to say no, that she would give them her blood and that was it, but that wasn't what she said. "Thank you." Even though she didn't remember who she was, he knew that the caring nature that she possessed was still there. If she knew someone was in danger, she would always do anything to help.

"So it's a done deal?" Yakumo questioned, "from now on, you're one of us," he took a step towards Luna throwing the apple high up in the air. Catching it in her left hand, she could see his hand before her. "Allow me to properly introduce myself, Yakumo Shinonome, I look forward to fighting alongside you."

Shaking his hand, "Likewise."

"Sorry for being a bit rude to you earlier, I don't like to make ties with people if they aren't willing to help us."

"No worries, I understand."

Louis directed their attention back to the board, "let's get right into it, as I mentioned we're studying blood beads and bloodsprings…. We want to know their cycle, when they produce, and their composition." Louis began, "during our previous expeditions, we've learned that first we found that there are veins running through the Earth, similar to capillaries. From what we can determine, each bloodspring is a top one of these blood veins. Also after further research, it appears that the blood beads and blood springs are mostly made up from the same substances."

"Basically, we feel we can safely assume that bloodsprings will always form on these blood veins." Yakumo shortened. "We believe there must be a source, a short of headwaters for the blood beads. And with you joining us, we can investigate the springs more thoroughly and hopefully follow the blood veins to the source."

It made sense to her, "I see, it makes sense. I mean we can't just assume that these things just form due to randomness, there has to be a source where it all starts."

"We'll begin by checking out the Old City Ruins first, once you're fully recovered we'll leave." Louis told her.

Shaking her head, "I'm fine, I just have some bruises remaining from that fight. We can leave as soon as tomorrow."

"That works fine with me, just don't push yourself." Yakumo told her. "You ok with that Louis?"

"Fine, we leave first thing tomorrow." he agreed, "we should start preparing for the trip, make sure to pack everything you'll need." Louis advised them.

"Good, I'm going to find Murasame." she told them, since she awoke Luna didn't see her weapon anywhere. Since she was in charge of their battle needs, Luna hoped that Murasame could help her get set up with something potentially better for this trip.

They both watched her leave, leaving them behind. "You didn't seem thrilled when she said she was going to help us." Yakumo pointed out, he had picked up on Louis's emotions during that interaction. "I would think having her at your side would make you happy."

Shaking his head, "don't get me wrong, I appreciate her help but I don't want to risk losing her again." he replied.

"If you ask me, even if you didn't ask her, Luna would still push to come with us." Looking down at the bag of blood beads she had given them, "afterall, she looks like she's the type of person that cares a lot for others."

"_You don't have any idea how right you are."_ Louis thought to himself, "still, I won't allow anything to happen to her. I'll protect her no matter what."

Patting his back, "I know you will, and I'll help you. But if she's as good as a fighter as you make her out to be, she might just be the one protecting us."


	5. The Old City Ruins Pt 1

Sorry about the wait guys! Honestly it took me awhile to write this chapter because I was struggling with a lot of the combat, I also decided while I was writing this that I was going to make it into two separate chapters. I think that's how a lot of the areas are going to be written, I'll try to have part 2 up soon. Don't forget to leave a comment, favorite, or follow if you like it!

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The fire danced in her hand, this new ability to manipulate flames. The same type of power that Louis had. He was right. Her eyes were fixed upon the controlled blaze on her palm, she now had a portion of his powers.

After their talk, Louis had approached her with a theory. Since she was a Void Type, she was able to gain the strength from other Revenants by absorbing their vestiges or drinking a sample of their blood. Luna could remember the apprehension she had towards it. Fearing that the test would only turn her into one of the Lost, but it didn't; instead it gave her a new power to use on the battlefield. Louis had explained to her the details of his own Blood Code, Prometheus. By having access to this code, she would be able to boost her own strength in combat while also having the ability to stagger opponents with the flames she would be able to conjure.

Brushing her hair, Luna pulled a portion of her up. Grabbing the Stinger blood veil Murasame had given her, she fastened the long light gray trench coat like weapon over her body, throwing her hair back. Securing the coffin shaped pouch on the upper portion of her left arm, it was a bit heavy due to the supplies inside. Coco had been generous enough to give her some medicine and other items for their exploration. Though as she put it, she wants to keep her customers coming back or something along those lines. Kneeling down, Luna adjusted the leather bands of the sheathed knife on her upper thigh; keeping its presence hidden. "Better to be safe than sorry." she said to herself.

Luna placed the frame for her purifier mask on her chin, the black strap comfortably around her throat. Placing the mask upon her face, she could feel the weight of it resting snuggly on the frame. Reaching for the new bayonet, she twirled it around feeling the difference in weight in comparison to the one she had in the tunnels. Looking through the scope, it was clear; its range was remarkable as she could see the scuffs and scratches on the floor due to the magnification.

The glistening silver blade at the end of it, the very end of it appeared to be sharp enough to cut anything she faced down to size. Though that was only in a worst case scenario. Her job was to take down enemies at a distance, without the right type of weapon she won't be able to get into close combat. Unfortunately Murasame wouldn't have a sword ready for her for a few days. But she would make it work and use her new powers to do everything she can.

Taking a deep breath she knew that it was almost time for them to leave. Despite planning on leaving earlier, they were delayed due to other matters they needed to attend to. Walking out of her room, the light of a new day filled the base as Luna turned the corner as she could see Yakumo and Louis both geared up. The large dark brown stiff coat upon Yakumo's shoulders reminded her of the same one that Oliver wore; a few buttons keeping it sealed up. Resting upon his shoulder, the large blades that it was mainly composed of were different lengths. The sheer size of it could do a good chunk of damage to anyone unfortunate enough to be on the other end.

"Good you're ready." Yakumo greeted her, placing his purifier mask on. Taking a look at his teammates, the fire in their eyes. "This should be interesting with you joining us."

Nodding his head, "I think you'll be surprised when you see what she can do." Louis said, "listen up, the area we're heading to is swarming with Lost. Make sure not to let your guard down," turning towards Luna. "Yakumo and I are both skilled in close combat, so you don't need to worry about us. Focus on taking down those that are within your range." he instructed her.

Luna didn't like it though, the idea of keeping her distance annoyed her. She wanted to be up close, to strike down her opponents. But with this being her first expedition with them it would give her a chance to see how they work together. "Fine."

Walking towards the mistle, Luna was curious as she didn't quite understand why they didn't go any further. Seeing the inquisitive look in her eyes, "don't tell me you don't remember?" Yakumo questioned, his voice was hardly muffled by his mask. "Not only do the mistles help us heal and purify the miasma, but we can also use them as a way of transport." he explained. "All you have to do is think of the place you wanna go and viola you're there."

He made it sound so easy. Luna watched as Yakumo barely touched the mistle, as his body started to vanish leaving no trace of him. Louis could see the surprise in her eyes, "don't worry, you won't feel anything." he motioned for her to stand beside him. "Just take a deep breath, and think of the Crossroads." Louis instructed her.

"Where?" Luna didn't know what he was talking about.

Louis didn't know what to say, he assumed that she would know the area they needed to go. "The place where we killed that Lost."

Raising an eyebrow, it only took a second for it to come to her mind. _"The place where we had to kill Oliver….". _She knew that it needed to be done, but seeing such a tragedy befall someone as kind as him was something she couldn't shake. Nodding her head, Luna reached out towards the mistle, she pictured it in her head. Closing her eyes, she dropped down on one knee as she couldn't feel her body beginning to disperse.

The once quietness of Home Base was replaced with the sound of the wind bearing the distant cries of the Lost upon them. Slowly opening her eyes, Luna looked around. The damage to the battlefield was untouched, closeby she could see Oliver's Sledgehammer still embedded deep into the ground. A reminder and resting place of a Revenant that she barely knew.

Looking down at the ground, "hey Louis?"

"Yeah?"

Her fingers pointing down at the mistle, "I don't recall seeing this here." she pointed out the mistle. She didn't remember seeing it at all when they had fought Oliver.

"That mistle has always been there, but it's been dry for awhile. Most of the time some mistake them as rubble, but because we were in combat it's likely you didn't notice it." he explained.

"Oh…" Luna muttered, _"did my blood spill onto it during the fight?" _

"That's peculiar," she heard Louis speak as he walked towards Yakumo who appeared to be speaking to someone. Short dirty blonde hair pulled back, the dark yellow and beige half coat wrapped around his shoulders, two long mechanical tail-like ends on the back. Despite not having a weapon on him, the pouches along his pants may potentially carry items to be used offensively. "I didn't expect to see anyone here in a place like this." Louis spoke to the man, catching his attention.

Placing a hand upon his head, "I was just explaining to your friend here that I'm a wandering merchant." he said, nervousness rattling his voice. From the look of his demeanor, Luna didn't feel like he was going a threat. "I had heard that the group that was once here vanished, so I figured that it would be a good place to set up shop."

"I see," scanning the area behind him, Louis saw the path they needed to take. "Let's go." instructing the group, taking the lead they walked past the man.

Following behind Yakumo, Luna could feel the man tap on her shoulder. "My name is Shang by the way, if you guys need anything feel free to see me. I'll be here for awhile." he introduced himself.

"Thanks,"Luna was about to reach her hand out.

"Luna don't fall behind!" she could hear Louis call out to her.

"I'm coming!" replying back to her teammates, "sorry, but I gotta go. Stay safe, Shang!"

Running down the thin cleared path, countless fragments of debris formed a makeshift barrier, preventing many from going over them. Catching up to them, Luna saw the darkened tunnel they stood before. "This path should take us to the Old City Ruins." Yakumo spoke, his voice quietly echoing in the pit.

Apprehension consumed her nerves, Luna carefully watched as Yakumo and Louis began their descent into the unknown. Staying closeby, the weak glow of lanterns illuminated the craggy tunnel. Thorns of Judgement digging deep into the ground, piercing through the underpass, the soft golden hue illuminating the path.

Each of their steps echoing in the tunnel, "it's amazing that this is still intact." Luna softly spoke, she didn't know what could jump out at any turn. Her eyes adjusting to the lighting in the tunnel, looking ahead she could make out two separate paths ahead of them.

"Most of the tunnels around here are still pretty sturdy," Yakumo started. "No one really uses these tunnels for travel anymore."

"Why's that?"

"On the other side of this tunnel the miasma is worse, not many make it beyond that point. There's also the hoards of Lost that have taken over the area." Yakumo explained. "Also the mistles have dried up, making it harder for us to explore it."

"Geez I feel like I'm walking into a war zone." Luna sighed.

"The minute we step out of this tunnel, it will be." stopping in her tracks, she watched Yakumo and Louis get a few feet ahead of her. She couldn't imagine how many monsters they had crossed paths with in order to survive, even though they had yet to face anything they still carried themselves with confidence. Feeling her heart rapidly beating against her chest, she couldn't shake the anxiety that was creeping up on her.

"_I've been thrown into a world where I need to kill to survive," _catching up to them, they remained silent as they turned the corner walking up the darkened stairway of the tunnel. Despite having fought some of the Lost already did nothing to make her feel better, fighting was like a second nature to her though with every step she took made her heart beat faster and faster, _"kill or be killed those are only options basically."_

"There's a mistle up ahead," Louis pointed out, seeing the withered plant at the top of the stairs. Looking back he could see Luna trailing behind Yakumo. _"Once we go past the mistle there's no turning back."_ This was their chance to finally explore the Old City Ruins after so long. Their research could finally continue, this was their chance to figure out where the source was located but nothing was without its cost.

Yakumo could see Louis' attention was on Luna, stepping to the side to give her space. Grabbing the dagger from the pouch on her shoulder, she pulled off her glove exposing her palm as she stood before the mistle. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Luna drew the blade across her palm turning it to allow her blood to drip onto the mistle.

Dark crimson liquid dropped onto the plant, its curled branches stretching out as it glowed brightly. Turning to Luna, Yakumo nodded his head in approval. He had heard of the medicine that could restore mistles from Louis before, but wouldn't expect a Revenant to have that same ability. "Expectations exceeded."

Removing their masks, they could each feel the miasma in the air starting to get thinner. "That settles it," Louis said quietly to himself. "You're absolutely vital to our operation," looking directly at Luna. "We know of other mistles and bloodsprings ahead, are you sure you're up to it?" he asked her.

Her eyes broke free from his gaze, looking down at her healed palm. Slipping the glove back on Luna placed her purifier mask back on, nodding her head. "I told you already, I'm going to help you guys."

Tapping his weapon against his shoulder, "heh. The area up ahead of us is crawling with the Lost," putting his mask back on, as he started to walk up the stairs. "Make sure you watch yourself."

Walking closely behind him, Luna started her ascent up with Louis following. He could see the anxiety around Luna like it was an aura, _'I won't let anything happen to you."_

Stepping into the unknown area, the devastation was still just as awful. What was once a large bustling city was reduced to rubble. Structures of power and businesses torn to shreds by the demonic forces that shattered them to pieces. Vehicles covered by wreckage, glass windows broken into bits; all signs of life were completely washed away by chaos. "Looks like this place changed a bit since the last time we were here." Yakumo stated.

The area was much larger previously, though with the fallen fragments of concrete and metal had created a one way path. Continuing down the path, they could see that there was only a single trail they could follow. "Not really giving us any other options." Louis said. Walking up the elevated section across they surveyed the area.

Looking ahead at the narrow pathway, the screams and growls of the beasts hidden within made the hairs on her body stand up. They sounded much different from the enemies she had faced before. Grabbing onto the sides of the large broken building, she pulled herself up, trying to get a better view. "What are you doing?" Yakumo watched, as she found a study section for her to stand on.

Holding up her bayonet, her eye looking through the scope. She could see twists and turns of the path, almost every corner had one heavily armored Lost hiding amongst the rubble. Keeping a tally in her head, she counted each one she saw. _"Too bad I can't shoot them down from this distance," _she thought to herself. "We need to be careful, there's almost a few armored Lost ready to strike up ahead." she told them. "Not to mention the path is a maze of tight corners and blindspots, I don't think it's a coincidence that they're all placed where they are."

Both men looked upon her in agreement, "so they're basically waiting to strike down anyone foolish enough to wander in there." Yakumo said under his breath. The idea of fighting within cramped spaces wasn't ideal for him, he wouldn't be wouldn't be able to use his weapon to its full extent.

"It seems the Lost in this area have developed some sort of strategy," Louis pointed out. It had been so long since they were able to return to this area, it was no surprise that things had changed. "We need to be careful-"

The sounds of Luna's bayonet cut him off. She was fully aware that she wasn't going to hit them, but that wasn't her plan. Looking through her scope, she could see the armorned Lost looking directly at them, before raising its head up letting out a blood curdling roar. "Here they come!" She counted at least three in total had fallen for her trick.

Louis ran towards one, he dogged the swing of its rusted sword. Quickly cutting through the Lost with slight resistance from the armor that covered its body. Falling to the ground, he could see that it had yet to turn to ash. Raising his sword, he pierced its chest as it finally succumbed; its body fading around his blade.

Taking a few steps towards his opponents, Yakumo tightened the grip around his weapon. His arms carrying the weight of his two handed sword, slicing through the two Lost before him. He watched their bodies turn to ash, as he shook his head. "Next time give us a warning before you do anything like that!" he shouted at Luna as she climbed down from her perch.

Sensing something closeby, Luna looked over to her side as she could faintly hear the sound of something laughing. Cautiously taking a few steps towards the sound, her eyes could see a Lost similar to the ones she had seen in the tunnels she was forced down. It didn't seem to notice her presence, its full attention was fixation on something else. _"Pathetic."_

Looking down, Luna locked onto the Lost. Pulling the trigger she could feel each shot she fired take a small portion of her strength, the sounds of the shots making contact with its body. To her it wasn't even much of a fight, merely putting a beast out of its misery. She watched its body turn to ash, as she was soon transfixed onto what drew its attention to the dead end.

Laying on the ground, the vestige was even calling her. Jumping down from the ledge, Luna took a few steps towards it. Something was different about it, in her eyes it appeared smaller than the one that Oliver had left behind; like it was a fragment of a whole piece. Kneeling down to it, her hand reached out to touch it.

Her body prepared for her hand to be impaled by the large spikes that would shoot out. _"What happened back there?" _Luna was shocked to hear the voice in her head, she knew that voice. _"Cruz…. Everyone was…." _She knew that he wasn't next to her speaking, this fragment belonged to him. Grabbing the crystal, it didn't respond. It didn't attack her or anything, as Louis's voice stopped. It was like it was sleeping.

Tuning out her comrades, she didn't budge from where she stood. _"Cruz?"_ that name, it sounded so familiar to her. Luna didn't know where she heard it, but there was something about that name that made her heart ache. Placing her hand on her chest, she took a few deep breaths to help make the pain dissipate.

"Luna!" Yakumo shouted her name, "Luna what the hell are you doing!?" he yelled. Footsteps approaching her, Luna quickly tucked the fragment in her pocket. "Are you feeling ok?" Yakumo rushed over to her, she closed her eyes tight.

"What's wrong?" Louis questioned, the tone of concern lingering in his voice. Her weapon lay in front of her, to them she appeared to be taking a breather. _"The miasma might be affecting her," _Louis thought to himself. The only mistle they found could only do so much to clear the air around them, as the miasma was still dense.

Grasping the end of her gun, Luna stood on her feet facing her teammates. "Sorry, there was a Lost over here I didn't see. Anyway there are still more up ahead,". Luna didn't want to tell them of her find, not yet. Walking past them, her feet carried her along the path. Luna could sense that her comrades were not at her side, "you guys coming or what?!" she shouted.

They could tell she was hiding something, both Yakumo and Louis looked at eachother. It was better that they didn't push her, they would have to wait to find the right moment to ask her. Getting her worked up would be a bad idea, as they warily made their way through the path. Sticking close to each other, they cautiously walked through the maze path.

At any moment something could jump out and ambush them, searching every corner and turn they managed to make it out.

Seeing something from the corner of his eyes, Yakumo raised his sword like it was a shield blocking the Losts attack. "Shit! There's still more of them!?" Sliding under his blade, Luna stabbed the blade of her bayonet into the Losts chest where its heart would have been, firing a shot directly into it.

"I told you guys there were a few here." Hearing the sound of metal clashing, Luna turned to see Louis holding off another Lost. Both of their blades scraping against each other, neither of them budging.

"It must have snuck up on him." she heard Yakumo speak, gathering her strength she concentrated it into her hand. Fire danced in her palm, as she aimed it at the Lost. Making contact with its body it staggered back giving Louis the chance to strike. Slashing his sword upward the Lost disintegrated to ash, but his guard was still up.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of my Blood Code," Louis praised her. Fire Storm was an ability that he was able to use, it interesting to see that she handled it pretty well.

"Save the talking for later!" holding up her bayonet, Luna fired off a few shots at the Lost that Yakumo was up against. She knew that his weapon wasn't best suited for this type of area, but his fighting spirit proved otherwise. The sound of his blade striking the scrap like walls reverberated in her ears.

Running towards him they both stopped in their tracks as two more Lost appeared from around the bends of the trail. Standing back to back, they both faced their opponents. Watching the Lost raise its sword, _"now!" _summoning her Blood Veil the ends of her trench coast began forming into a metal tail, she parried the Lost's attack leaving it wide open. Raising the tail of her Stinger Blood Veil, she launched it down pinning the monster to the ground.

The sounds of combat died down, but they were all still on edge. "I'd say we handled that well." Yakumo cheered.

"We're not done here yet." Louis reminded him, as they cautiously continued.

Jumping forward, Luna saw it. Turning towards the Lost, she wasn't going to give it a chance to attack. Striking the Lost with the blade of her bayonet, Luna quickly activated her Blood Veil. The metal tail circling around the Lost as the large stinger struck it directly in the chest. Feeling some of her energy return to her, the cries of more called her attention.

Lifting up her bayonet she took aim at the Lost, "not good enough!" Louis shouted. His right arm was encased with metal like armor, the elongated dagger like fingers slashing through the Lost like it was nothing, only leaving ash in its place.

The roar of another was closeby, whirling towards it, her eyes widened. Glowing red eyes glaring at her, it was too close for her to react. Luna prepared to feel the full force of its attack as she closed her eyes. The faint growling of dogs was practically in her ear as she slowly opened her eyes. Two mechanical like hound heads firmly held the Lost within its two sets of jaws, the red illumination leading back to Yakumo. "I told you to watch yourself." he said to her before ripping the Lost apart.

Taking a deep breath, "I owe you one." she thanked him.

"Looks like everyone is ok so far," from the looks of it, none of them had suffered any injuries during the fight. "We should be out of here soon." Staying close to each other, they continued along the path as they could see the narrowness of the pathway was starting to fade.

Entering into the more open area they all stopped as they looked at the structure before them. Open sections of space appeared to be overflowing with ruins of the past civilization. Numerous levels were demolished by conflict, filled with fragments of turmoil. "Is that the parking garage?" Louis questioned.

"Looks like it's seen better days," Yakumo replied.

Holding up her bayonet, Luna tried to get a better look of what hid inside. Grunting in anger she lowered her weapon, "there's too much stuff, I can't see anything." she informed them. Looking to her left she could see the sheer drop at the edge of the cliff like structure they stood on, she didn't need her scrop to see what was waiting for them on the other side. Four enemies stood at the edge of a second parking garage, from what she could see it appeared that the three smaller ones had bayonets meaning they were ranged fighters. _"You wouldn't recover from a fall like that…." _she thought to herself.

The only way across to the other side was a thin bridge that connected the two pieces of land. Yakumo followed Luna's gaze as he could see it, "I don't like those odds." he said. Patting Luna on the back, it was still a good distance away it would give them plenty of time to think about how they would handle it when they got closer. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." he reassured her.

Walking into the parking garage, the abundance of abandoned vehicles gave them restricted room to move around. "Damn not this shit again," Luna murmured to herself.

"_Threatened by a little boy...I must be letting my image slip." _her eyes widened as she heard the sounds of Coco's voice. Moving towards the pile of boxes, both men watched her in curiosity as she hacked at the weakened materials.

Kneeling down she saw it, "no way is that-!?"

Nodding his head, "it's a vestige." Louis answered. They couldn't hear anything coming from it, as they carefully watched her pick it up. The fragment didn't respond to her touch as it lay dormant in the palm of her hand. "How strange, it doesn't seem to be active." They were both aware of how vestiges respond when someone tried to touch one, they had never seen one so calm.

"I don't think it's a full vestige, it might just be only a fragment." Luna noted, placing the fragment in her pocket next to the other one she found. "I think there's more of them around here, it might be a good idea to keep an eye out for them." she suggested. Her finger tips grazing the one fragments in her pockets.

"Not a bad idea, you would have an arsenal of abilities at your disposal." Louis agreed with her idea.

Shaking her head, "that's not why I want to find them…. These vestiges have memories that belong to their owners, they're abandoned in this world leaving any trace of who they once belonged to trapped within them. This world is already cruel enough, I don't want them to be forgotten. We already fear becoming the Lost, monsters without a single shred of humanity. I feel the least I can do is remember those who have fallen."

Taking a step towards her, "that's a huge burden for you to bear," Yakumo was impressed by her reasoning, but it would take a toll on her. "You sure you're up to it?"

Nodding her head, "I'm the only one who can do it. Speaking of burdens, turn around." holding up her bayonet they turned, two Losts slowly crept towards them both of them holding shields in front of them.

Yakumo and Louis dashed towards them, as the Lost deflected their attacks. Firing off a couple of shots, Luna managed to make one drop its shield as it raised its halberd. Just as she was about to jump into the fight, a sharp pain carved at her back. Falling to her knees, the sting of pain grabbed the nerves in her back as she could feel her blood spilling from the wound. The grunting of the Lost behind her made the hairs on her body stand up, as two more slashs followed. Crying out Luna tried to ignore the pain she held her hand out as the blast of flames left her hand making the Lost step back.

Holding up her bayonet Luna pulled on the trigger, but nothing came out. Looking at her weapon in disbelief the Lost chuckled as it dragged its sword behind it, _"damn I used up to much ichor!" _Luna's thoughts screamed at her, the pain soon returned as it flooded her mind. The damage to her back was growing stronger and stronger, much worse than what she had originally felt. Feeling the gaze of the Lost grow more hungry, Luna felt her body freeze, _"what's wrong with me?! I need to kill this thing!" _

Her mind raced as she tried to concentrate on using her Blood Veil, but it wouldn't respond. Closing her eyes, Luna waited for the Lost to strike her down but felt nothing. Slowly opening them, Louis stood in front of her; the ash dancing off his blade. "You shouldn't give in to your opponents so easily." he told her, turning towards her, offering her his hand.

Pushing herself up, Luna shook her head. "Sorry, won't happen again." the way she spoke sounded colder than she had expected.

"This isn't the time to be letting your guard down, one more attack and you would have dispersed." Yakumo spoke to her, "fix yourself up and we'll continue on."

"How? I don't think any of the things Coco gave me can help my wounds." Most of it was just for combat, to enhance her weapon or to cure any ailments the enemies could cast upon her.

Giving her a curious look, Yakumo sighed. "Man your memory loss is pretty bad, you even forgot what Revenants can do." taking a step toward her, "all Revenants have an ability to heal themselves it's called Regeneration. We can use it a certain amount of times, it doesn't really do much but when we don't have quick access to a mistle it's a pretty handy thing." he explained. "All you have to do is focus some of your energy on repairing your body."

"Interesting," Luna whispered, _"if I had remembered that then I wouldn't have been a damn damsel in distress in the tunnels!" _she shouted to herself. Sighing, her eyes wandered to the ground. Just how much had she forgotten? Besides her human memories, she even forgot what she could do as a Revenant.

Placing her hand on her chest, her heart beat loudly as she could feel the aches of her wound starting to fade though it didn't leave her. Yakumo made it sound so easy. Even though a portion of her wounds felt better, the lingering sting remained. "Better?" Louis questioned.

"Not really, but the pain is more manageable now." Luna didn't want to exhaust her Regeneration, not knowing what was behind the twist and turns of the area they were in. _"To think I was just waiting for something to kill me…. Why didn't I move? Why didn't I attack?"_ she questioned herself. Something about that whole ordeal shook her with a strange familiarence.

The sound of her comrades' voices started to grow duller and duller. _**"Pathetic."**_

"What?" Luna spoke, the voice sounded so clear but it didn't come from either Louis or Yakumo.

"I said, do you think you'll be ok?" Louis repeated himself. Seeing the emptiness in her eyes for just a brief moment, like she was lost.

Turning her back, "yea." her answer was short. "You said there's a bloodspring ahead didn't you?"

Nodding his head, "it's near the park in the city center," he answered her.

"Alright." Still having no ichor, Luna opted not to use her ichor concentrates. Coco had told her that those were a hard item to find, making them something that should only be used when absolutely necessary. "Let's just hope there's a mistle closeby."

"There should-" loud stomping steps echoed as they grew closer to an abandoned minivan. Ducking down, they stayed out of view. Holding a massive hammer over its shoulder, the dark clothes that clung to its body were stretched and expanded over its large curves and folds. Large valves on both sides of its head were embedded in its head with larger ones sticking out of its back. Each step it took caused the ground they were on to shake slightly, as its exhales and grunts escaped from the mask. "That's not good." Yakumo muttered.

"What is it?" Luna questioned, it looked so similar to Oliver when he had transformed.

"It's known as a Raging Noblewoman," Louis spoke quietly. "Some Revenants who had been turned into the Lost can transform into monsters like that or worse."

"I highly doubt there's anything noble about it." Luna laughed, though now wasn't the laugh. "Wait… worse?"

"We need to be extremely careful, those things can pack quite a punch." Yakumo instructed. "Once it's turned its back we'll go in for the kill."

They all waited as the beast looked around in the direction they were hiding, as if it knew they were there. It's stomping steps would occasionally come closer to them, making them grip their weapons tightly only for it to walk away a short distance and return. As they leaned against the car, it felt like hours were passing by. Noticing the footsteps were beginning to sound distant, they rose up slightly. "It's now or never!" Yakumo shouted.

Running from their hiding spot, the beast quickly turned on its heel towards her at a surprising speed that she wouldn't have expected for something or its size. Letting out a piercing roar, it raised the hammer it held high before bringing it down. They all managed to dodge the attack as Luna rushed over to it, slashing at its sides with the blade of her bayonet.

Gearing for another attack, the noblewoman pulled the hammer back. Trying to get some space between them, Luna tried to roll out of the way only to be met with the flat side of the hammer. "I thought I-!" Feeling the wind knocked out of her, she rolled across the ground. Yakumo wasn't kidding when he said they could pack a punch. Forcing herself up she could see Louis and Yakumo holding the beast back, both of them together would be enough to exterminate it. "I'm not going to depend on them again!"

She hated the idea of not being able to do enough, so far they had done most of the work in killing the Lost. She wasn't going to hold them back. Feeling something inside of her welling up, Luna knew what she needed to do.

Vanishing into mist, Luna teleported right in front of the large monster catching it off guard. The beast paused for a brief moment, stunned to see her before it. Now was her chance. Raising her bayonet her legs boosted her up, as she slashed diagonally across her opponent. The monster's blood curdling screams consumed the small space, holding her hand close to her chest the flames she conjured started to grow stronger and stronger.

Hurling the flames at the monster she knew there was no chance of it dodging this attack. Staggering backwards its cries began to grow weak, her eyes watched the forsaken soul fall to the ground; it's body disintegrating into gray ash. Panting behind her mask, Luna could feel her energy diminishing. She knew she overdid it, placing a hand on her chest she concentrated her on healing her injuries. The stinging pain in her arms and body slowly began to fade, as she started to feel a bit better.

"That was quite impressive," Yakumo clapped. That Lost would have been no issue for all three of them, but her efficiency in the execution was more lethal than he expected. "I guess Louis was right to give you some of his blood." Luna tilted her head in confusion, shaking his head. "That move you did, I've seen Louis do that hundreds of times…. Looks like you got it down." patting her on the back, being mindful of her still fresh wounds he carefully led the way.

She didn't know what to say as she followed Yakumo down the paved downward slope of the parking garage. Staying close to her side, Louis could see that she was being very careful on her use of medicine. Back there was the first time she had used on despite their constant battles since arriving. "That move…. It takes a lot out of you when you first use it." he said to her, her purple eyes gazing up at him.

"Was it the same for you?" Luna asked him.

Nodding his head, "it takes awhile to adjust, but it appears that you've got the hang of locking onto your opponent. Just be careful when you're using it, sometimes enemies will strike you just as you appear before them; leaving you wide open for an attack." Louis advised her. He couldn't deny that he was overjoyed to see her use that move, she performed it so gracefully like it was something she had done all her life.

"I'll remember that," she said. They looked ahead to see Yakumo testing the ladder that was embedded to the side of the wall. Following his gaze, they could see what had caught his attention. Down below appeared to be a small group of Lost scattered around; the space didn't appear to be as tight as the parking garage, but it wasn't much bigger. In the center laid a broken down car, Luna already had a plan formulating in her head.

"We should try to find a different way around," Yakumo directed them towards the path on the same level.

Looking around Luna could see a withered up mistle just a few feet away, "hey look-!" stopping dead in her tracks, it hit her. The sweet metallic scent penetrated her mask, invading her nose. Wetting her appetite, eyes glowing bright red. Despite consuming a blood bead a couple of days ago, the thirst in her throat began to claw at her. The craving and need to satisfy the need for blood growing stronger with each inhale she took.

Tightening the grip on her bayonet, her mind was starting to be swallowed by madness. Her need to drink blood was getting worse by the minute, the smell was so tantalizing, tempting her to taste. Gritting her teeth, Luna tried to focus on anything else. _"Fight it! Fight it!" _

Rushing over to her. "Hey what's-?!" Yakumo picked up on the scent as well, "hey Louis, you smell that?" looking over at his friend, he watched him kneel down examining something on the ground.

A small puddle of crimson liquid on the floor, from the look of it alone Louis could tell it hadn't been there long. "Human blood…. Potentially from an escapee." kneeling down, he examined the spot. Grabbing a vial from his pouch, he let a single drop of the clear liquid fall onto the blood.

Fighting back his own urges, they all turned toward the sound of footsteps approaching them. Appearing from the boxes, they all tensed up a bit. Short red hair, fading to purple tips. A long red trench coat covering his body, as the purifier mask hid most of his face. Dark purple feathers adorning the sides of his boots, his head moving side to side like he was searching for something. "Now where did she run off to?" they heard him talking to himself, taking deep breaths of the area. Catching a glimpse at the trio. "Hey, just what the hell do you think you're doing here?!"

Tension immediately surrounded them, he appeared to be ready to attack them at any moment. Louis turned towards him, "none of your business."

The man rushed up to him, getting in Louis's face. "Oh really? Then explain this…" he was clearing trying to intimidate him, but Louis wasn't phased. "Why would filth like you have the sweet scent of a human on ya?! Answer me that!" he demanded.

"Take a look at the ground you idiot." Yakumo pointed out, but that didn't seem to matter to the man.

"Look here the girl belongs to us!" he shouted, despite not seeing his eyes Luna knew that they were both deadlocked onto each other without the need of their weapons. "You get in my way and I'll make sure you all turn to ash."

Raising her bayonet she couldn't stand the way he was talking to them, especially Louis. The disrespect and rudeness, Luna could see him proudly wearing it like a crown upon his head. Her mind was screaming at her to take him out right then and there. "That's my line jackass!" her finger on the trigger. "You fucking try to attack either one of them and I'll make sure you never revive." she threatened.

Hearing him chuckle only made her blood boil, "you think I'm scared of some little girl with a gun?" he mocked her. His attention now on her, "let's be honest here girly, none of you stand a chance against me."

Luna had enough. She didn't like that his attitude was getting to her so badly, but she wasn't going to just stand there and take it anymore. "Screw this, I'm gonna enjoy destroying your heart." her finger was ready to pull the trigger, she didn't care of the repercussions of her actions. He reminded her so much of her captor, the sheer arrogance and disrespect for others. She absolutely despised it. _"Revenants like you make me sick." _

"That's enough!" Louis commanded, glancing over at Luna. He could see her temper had gotten the better of her, "let it go."

Lowering her weapon, "you can't be serious?"

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned her head up towards Yakumo, shaking his head. "Revenants like him aren't worth wasting your resources." taking the hint from Louis, Yakumo signaled for Luna to take a step back. She hesitantly put distance between her and the red haired Revenant, hearing him laugh.

"Pathetic," placing his hands on his hips. "If I ever see you three again, I'll make sure to end you all." walking towards Louis, he purposely bumped into him. Holding it together, Louis shook his head. The man jumped from the ledge, down to the ground below.

Taking a deep breath, "fresh blood is some powerful stuff," turning towards Luna. "Are you going to be ok?" he asked her. Nodding her head, the rage she felt drowned out the hunger for blood. The scent was beginning to fade, "about time that stuff sets in."

Looking down at the small pool of human blood, it was starting to grow darker and darker. "It takes time for it to neutralize the scent of blood," he said to Yakumo. Seeing the small vial of clear liquid in his hand, "there are some humans that aren't under the protection of Silva, or are held captive by Revenants but their blood draws in both Revenants and the Lost. In order to prevent us from being swarmed by them we use this." Louis explained showing Luna the vial. "A single drop breaks down blood."

"I see," Luna was surprised that there were so many things in their world that they used for expeditions. Things that she would need to get used to and learn to use, looking back at the dried mistle she pulled the glove from her hand. The cut in her palm was starting to heal slightly, pulling out a dagger she pulled it over the same wound; wincing at the stinging pain.

Dropping a few drops of her blood onto the mistle, it darkened veins turned vibrant once again as it appeared to be breathing life once again. Removing the masks from their face, Luna could feel her body slowing beginning to heal from all the fighting. Taking a deep breath, the heaviness of the miasma was beginning to clear making it easier for her and the others to breathe. "It's been so long since we've been able to go this far." Yakumo spoke up.

"I just hope you guys remember the way," feeling her body completely recovered from her injuries Luna looked towards the path that the arrogant Revenant took. "Because right now, we have a bigger problem at hand."

Nodding their heads, "I agree," Louis spoke up. "We need to find that girl before he does."


	6. The Old City Ruins Pt 2

Hey guys! So quick little thing before we get started into this chapter, I did change some things in terms of when you first get to the Park Ruins and some other scenes, but you'll find that out soon enough. I've tried writing this second part like five times since the last update and when it comes to combat my head can think it, but my fingers can't type it.

Anyway, sorry for the wait. Things have been pretty crazy and I've been trying to write for this story and a few other ones that I'm working on, but I won't lie when I say it's hard to do so. I'm trying to take my writing and things in my life day by day, I really appreciate your guys patience and understanding. Now let's get back to Vein!

* * *

"Finally!" Luna shouted, entering into the park ruins with her companions behind her. They had spent most of the day exploring the Old City Ruins, fighting through wave after wave of Losts. Compared to the tunnels that she was first thrown into, it seemed like a cake walk in comparison to what they endured.

Activating the mistle the darkness of the miasma quickly faded from the area as they all took a moment to rest, the fighting was relentless. "The amount of Lost here is a bit worrisome." Yakumo spoke, as all eyes turned towards him. "Last time Louis and I came out here it wasn't as bad, but this….this may be a problem."

Tilting her head, "how so?"

"The Lost seem to be more condensed in the city area," Louis said. "Before they were more spread out, but something may be forcing them to move that way." the dense clusters of Lost were worse than what they had seen before. Normally they would be in smaller groups that were spread out across the entire area; Louis couldn't help but worry about what else was waiting for them as they were drawing closer to the Blood Spring.

Shaking his head, Yakumo seemed to be thinking the same thing. Looking over at Luna he could see the perplexed look in her eyes as she took off her mask. "You may or may not remember this, but there are Lost out here that are more of an issue than what we've already faced."

Thinking back, Luna could only think of a few larger Lost that she had fought back in the tunnels. Large monsters that were nearly over ten feet tall with elongated drooping noses, "I mean it would surprise me if the worst thing we could face is a Raging Noblewoman." she told him. Looking around, the roaring screams of the Lost that surrounded them in the center of the Old City Ruins was nowhere to be heard, an eerie silence blanketed them in unease. "If there is something here…. It's making its presence well known."

Tapping his sword against his shoulder, "you mean the silence?" Yakumo asked.

"Yea… it's weird, even in an open area like this we could still hear them but now…. There's nothing." she didn't trust it, not one bit. "I don't think I need to say this, but we really shouldn't let our guard down."

"I agree," Yakumo sided with her. Putting their masks back on, they cautiously made their way through the remnants of civilization. Large portions of the red brick like ground had fallen away, leaving only endless chasms in their place. Looking ahead, "what's that?" they heard him question as they followed him towards a ladder.

Luna glanced over the edge of where the ladder was placed, it didn't appear to be too far of a jump but it would still hurt. Her eyes followed the set path as she could see an ivory statue in the distance, "I'm gonna go check it out." she told them, stepping off of the ledge she braced herself as a slight stinging pain clawed at her legs. Gasping at the pain, she gritted her teeth, _"probably should have used the ladder."_*

"You alright?" Yakumo inquired from above, he and Louis watched her shake off any discomfort she may have felt.

"I'm fine!" Luna replied, "I'll make this quick." running over to the statue, Luna was amazed by how fastened it was in the ground even as everything around it was crumbling around it. Dried spots of blood and claw marks marked the long dress of the Goddess statue. It was still strange to her that something like this was here, the fact that it even survived in its condition was remarkable.

Circling around the statue, Luna spotted the small red fragment on the ground. Quickly picking it up she placed it in her pouch along with the others that they had found. So many memories, so many fragments of the past had been scattered amongst the wasteland of civilization. Her eyes shifted upwards, "what the…." the ladder was pulled up a majority of the way, as it hung from the ledge.

Stabbing the blade of her bayonet into the ground, Luna reached towards the ladder; even reaching as far as she could she was unable to reach itit. Bending her knees, she attempted to jump towards the bar, but still to no avail. "Luna! What's taking so long?" Yakumo's inquisitive shout shocked her.

She knew she had been taking too long, retrieving her weapon Luna hurried back over to her group. "I'm sorry," Luna apologized, climbing up the ladder. Taking her weapon, Yakumo grabbed her other hand pulling her up. "Did you guys know there's a ladder over there?" Luna pointed towards the other ledge.

"What are you talking about?" hearing Yakumo's confusion, Luna again pointed in the direction of the ladder.

"Over there!" she insisted, "there's a ladder over there, but it's pulled up." Thinking about it, Luna found it strange that it was pulled up. There didn't appear to be a way for them to make the ladder descend on their side, only on the side of the ledge. "I think whoever pulled the ladder up, wanted to ensure that no one go to the other side."

Walking towards the ruins, "I don't want you to think that I don't believe you, but we should focus now on our mission."

Clenching her fist, Luna shoved aside her frustration. She knew that saving the human was much more important than her discovery, but still it irritated her that neither Yakumo or Louis were the slightest bit interested in her find. "Understood," she hesitantly submitted.

They continued walking down the decimated and narrowing path for a few moments, "is that…. A cocoon?" Louis questioned. The flower-like webbed lattice work appeared to cover a large portion of the area ahead of them like ordained spikes of havoc. Numerous webbed spikes line the circular field as fragments of various objects were hidden deep within their swaddled bindings; in the center of the white flower was a dark bead of something he couldn't identify. "Look at the size of it, it's massive." even from the distance, it's size was remarkable.

"I think I know what caused the Lost to migrate towards the city center," Yakumo spoke. "I had heard a rumor that-"

"_Luna…"_ a woman's voice spoke her name, Luna tuned out Yakumo and Louis's conversation as she looked around trying to see who else was with them. _"Luna…. Over here." _turning to the right, her eyes widened. Long silver hair nearly reaching the cement ground swayed with every step she took, nearly covering the back of her blue hospital gown. Turning her head the woman's red eyes gazed over at her, her tan hand motioning Luna to follow. _"Come on!" _the woman cheered.

Following the woman, Luna could see everything around her started to change, the piles of rubble and debris faded away. The red sky of the setting sun transformed into a baby blue shade with thin white clouds dancing above. The chaos that she had walked into disappeared, bringing a sensation she thought she would ever feel in the world. Peace.

Numerous conversations and people walked by her, they didn't have red eyes or carried weapons or even dawned Blood Veils. They were all normal humans. "This isn't real," Luna whispered to herself. "This can't be real." This looked nothing like the world they were once in, everything seemed so lively and happy. No lost running around, no Revenants fighting for blood beads, nothing of the sorts.

"_Of course it is! Honestly Luna, you should know better."_ Laughter traveled with the sound of the birds singing their melodies. Emerald green grass framed the stone walkway, a few flowers had sprouted here and there. _"Luna! Look!" _the woman called out to her, kneeling down before something. _"Take a look at this!"_

Luna couldn't see it, "what is it?" she asked the woman. Kneeling before her, she could see it; a fragment of a vestige. "That's!"

"_Take it, I know you want it"_ the woman encouraged her. Reaching towards it, she grasped onto it as it lay dormant in the palm of her handl. _"You say you want to ensure they're never forgotten, but do you really think you can handle all that pain?" _Luna could vaguely hear the sound of screams and pleads in her head, before locking eyes with the woman only to see the sorrow in her red eyes as she appeared to be searching for the right words to say.

"Do you think it's a bad idea?" She stared at the girl for what felt like an eternity. "What are you trying to tell me?" she asked her, but still got no response. "First in my dreams and now here…. Why are you doing this?"

"Luna?" hearing Louis's voice, everything around her shattered. A sharp pain burned in her chest, her hand clenching at the fabric that covered her. The agonizing torment speared her entire body in intense distress. The sound of her pain filled gasps alarmed them both, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Louis kept a tight grip on her, "is she frenzying?" Yakumo questioned as he kneeled down besides them.

Examining her neck, Louis couldn't see any trace of the black veins that were usually an indication of frenzy. Gazing at her eyes, there wasn't any sign of change or illumination that would have been a sign. "No, but something's not right." Her trembling body caused his levels of concern to skyrocket, as they waited for her to calm down.

The pain she suffered slowly began to dissipate along with the illusion of the world that she once saw, the scenes of tranquility were restored to the mayhem and chaos that she now found herself surrounded in once again. Taking a few deep breaths, Luna could sense the tension in that air around her; looking at the palm of her hand, the fragment of the vestige still didn't react. "It didn't do it…." she whispered.

"Didn't do what?"

Shaking her head, Luna pushed herself up. "Nothing," she told them. She couldn't explain what happened. That girl once again showed herself to Luna again, but this time when she was awake. _"Who the hell is she?"_

"Aaaahhhh!" a loud shriek pieced the unsettling silence. "Let go of me!"

"Shit he must have found her!" Yakumo charged towards the sound of the voice. Running closely behind him, "Luna! Hit that guy with everything you go!" he instructed her, as they could see the Revenant from earlier grabbing the human by the arm, trying to drag her along. Blood and dirt caked the button up sleeveless shirt and black skirt that covered her body. The worn leather coverings of her boots were terrible as they seemed to be falling apart. "Well get the girl to safety."

Readying her bayonet, "don't have to tell me twice!" As she was about to charge in, Luna felt something grip tightly onto her shoulders. Looking over her shoulder, Louis had a firm grip on her stopping her from charging forward. "What are you doing?"

Louis didn't say a word, as he and Yakumo were transfixed on what they were both staring at. Turning her attention to what caught their gaze, her eyes widened in fear as the center of the lace flower started to move. "I guess the rumor is true…." Louis whispered.

"What rumor?"

"The reason why the Lost are migrating towards the city center, is because of that." Yakumo said, "an extremely dangerous Lost that's known as the Butterfly of Delirium. Davis said that it specializes in poison based attacks. It kills anything from Revenants, humans, to even other Lost." he explained.

Watching the black bulb starting to unfold. White tendrils adorned its feminine face like a crown along with parts of its legs, dark purple orbs bejeweled them. The black exterior of the thin petal like wings opened up, exposing the light pink to purple ombre that colored the inside of the six individual wings. Large golden eyes scanned the area before it, as the long black tail began to unfurl showing the black spikes that were attached to each individual scale-like section. The large head at the end of its tail drooled a light violet liquid that escaped from its sharp fangs and incisors.

"Let go of me, I'm done being treated like an animal!" she screamed, the braids that framed her face stuck to her skin, her blood discoloring her darkened white hair.

"How dare you run away from us! Don't you know what happens if we don't have blood, or did you think about that before you ran away?" The Revenant questioned the human. The fear in her eyes screamed the torment and sorrow that had encased her for so long.

"I don't care! I'd rather die than go back!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

The Revenant grabbed onto her shoulders, "that can be arranged you ungrateful bitch!"

They watched as the Butterfly of Delirium swung it's large tail towards the Revenant, the force of the hit causing his body to be launched a distance away. Taking the chance, the girl ran off as she quickly disappeared from sight. The eyes of its tail locked onto the Revenant, the flames of Louis's Fire Storm stopped it before it could sink its teeth into him. "Get him somewhere safe!" Louis commanded.

"You owe me for this!" Running towards the Revenant, Yakumo picked up the unconscious Revenant.

Pulling a dagger from her pouch, Luna threw it at the Butterfly of Delirium. "Of all things," she shook her head, "it had to be something that deals with poison." knowing she had antivenom in her pouch made the anxiety she felt a bit easier to deal with. Firing a few shots of ichor, the tail of the beast blocked each shot as none of them didn't seem to affect it. "Don't aim for the tail!"

Rushing towards it, Louis slashed the monster with his sword. The white encasing around it's legs didn't appear to be damaged by any of his strikes. "No good!" Covering itself with its wings, they could all see a thick purple cloud surrounding it. "Move now!" thrusting its wings back, the strong breeze of poison hit both Luna and Louis, knocking them back a distance.

The familiar sting took over her nerves, Luna couldn't hold back the violent coughs that followed. The toxins released by the Butterfly of Delirium were stronger than the blobs that she had encountered before in the tunnels, the back of her throat felt like it was on fire, the molecules of venom coated her skin and clothing like a second flesh. Hearing the others holding it back, Luna used her Regeneration. Part of her felt better, but there was still the issue of her strength being sapped away.

Sensing their opponent approaching, Luna aimed her bayonet. Glancing through the scope, she pulled the trigger releasing a few more shots. Each shot managed to hit it, but still it wasn't enough to badly injure it. Flying away from them, the monstrous head of its tail perched itself over its head releasing tiny orbs of poison around it. Forcing herself to move, Luna avoided them.

"Fall back!" Yakumo shouted, he could see her mobility was slower than normal.

She watched him and Louis take on the Butterfly of Delirium as she searched her pouch for the antivenom. Looking in her hand, she only had three vials worth of antidote. Putting two back, she took a deep breath as she held the tip of the needle close to her neck. Breaking the skin, Luna took deep breaths as she pushed the plunge on it sending the antivenom through her veins.

Dropping the vial, the effects of the venom quickly dissipated. Knocking the monster down, Yakumo and Louis didn't hesitate to attack it. Dashing towards them, Luna thrusted her bayonet into the side of it. Pulling back her weapon, a wave of poison started to surround it. Jumping back, "how tough is this thing?" she questioned.

"Don't know, don't charge in recklessly." Yakumo told her, "do you have any antivenom?"

"Yea, I only have a couple of vials." she told them, "what about you guys?" she asked them as she used part of her Regeneration to heal her wounds.

"I should have enough." Yakumo answered her.

"Same."

"Good, now enough chatter. Time to take this thing down!" Luna spoke before charging towards the Butterfly of Delirium, Yakumo shook his head.

Following behind her, "don't rush in!" Using his blade as a shield he blocked the charge attack of its tail, the force of it pushing him into Luna. Rolling onto her back, Luna concentrated as the flames surrounded her arm. Throwing the ball of flames, it staggered giving them an opening. "Let's go!"

As they were about to attack, the mouth on its tail opened widely sending out a large projectile ball of poison. Luna knew she didn't have enough time to dodge it, lifting up her leg. "Move Yakumo!" kicking him with all of her might, she watched him stumble away from her.

"Luna!" they both shouted her name, as she was consumed by the ball of poison. They could hear the laughter rumble out of the Butterfly of Delirium as it swung its tail, making direct contact with Luna. Rolling on the ground, the feeling of poison hit her again. "What the hell were you thinking?" Yakumo questioned her, as he dragged her away leaving Louis to fight the beast.

Coughing, "I thought it would be better if one of us got hit instead of both of us." she managed to speak, "comrades need to look out for each other."

Yakumo chuckled, "guess you're right…." preparing himself, "take a minute to heal up, I'll cover for you in the meantime."

Feeling her bayonet slipping from her grasp, everything started to feel heavy around her. The weight of her Blood Veil dragging her down, the heaviness of her own mask upon her face. Looking towards the others, through blurry vision she could barely make out their silhouettes giving it their all to fight off the poisonous monster. Digging into her pouch her fingers could feel the vials that she desperately needed. The sensation of the long needle pushing into her neck, pushing the antidote in her veins alleviated the ailment.

Throwing the emptied vial, her hand reached for her chest. "This is all I have left," weakly saying to herself. The damage to her body was beginning to heal, taking a deep breath she could feel most of her strength return but not all. _"Only one more use of Regeneration left." _Luna knew she had to be careful, the Butterfly of Delirium was tougher than she had originally thought.

The roaring of their opponent was getting closer and closer, it's tail snaking in the air directly towards her. Rolling to the side, holding her breath purple eyes could see the thin wave of poison surrounding it. The particles dancing around it, in a deadly manor. Holding up the bayonet, Luna took aim firing off several rounds of condensed ichor. Pain filled screams clawing at her ears, before pulling its tail back as it launched it towards her. Raising up her bayonet, Luna tried to block the attack.

Sheer force slammed into her, her footing slipping from under her feet as she was launched back. Yakumo and Louis could hear her pain filled cry, as they both tried to keep the Butterfly away from her. Poison entering their systems, as they all managed to get their distance away from it.

Panting, "think we're close to killing it?" Yakumo asked, before the Butterfly let out a ghastly roar. "Guess not." they all had landed enough blows to knock down at least three noblewomen, but this was unlike any Lost they had faced before. Even facing a Frenzied Oliver was easier than this.

"This is bad," Louis muttered. They all took the chance to inject the antivenom into their veins, curing them of their ailment. "If this keeps up, the entire area will be filled with poison."

Looking around, Yakumo and Luna could see what Louis was talking about. The once reddish hue of sunset was beginning to become clouded by a dark purple tint similar to the same aura that the Butterfly of Delirium was giving off. "If this keeps up, all the antivenom in the world won't save us." Luna whispered, seeing the poison dancing in the air. "We need to end this quickly."

"Might be easier said than-" before Yakumo could finish his sentence, Luna charged towards their opponent. "Luna!" he shouted her name, but there was no stopping her. "She's way too reckless!"

"_I don't have much ichor left," _concentrating, the blazing flames wrapped around her hand. _"I can only use and maybe one shot,"_ throwing the large ball of flames towards the Butterfly of Delirium was a direct hit. Orange and red wisps covered its body, Luna could see the anger filling it's eyes. Dodging its tail, Louis and Yakumo ran towards the beast; seeing the opening that Luna created.

Appearing behind it, Luna lifted her bayonet aiming directly at the back of its head. A wave of calmness washed over her, she knew that Louis and Yakumo saw the chance and they took it. She just needed to keep it's attention on her for just a bit longer. Watching it turn towards her, she didn't hesitate; pulling the trigger.

Empty clicks of her bayonet destroyed the calmness she once felt. "Shit!" Luna swore she had no more ichor concentrates and even if she did, there wasn't enough time for her to use it. The large dark head of its tail locked onto her, as it charged straight at her. "I'm not going down without a fight!" Adjusting her grip on the handle, Luna put all her force behind her strike.

Her eyes widened in horror, everything stopped. The sound of metal breaking shot into her head, things around her slowly started to move; half of her bayonet was inside of its jaws. Fragments of metal shimmered across its lined face, Luna could have sworn she could see it smirking. Opening its jaws time returned back to normal, releasing the half of her weapon by spitting it before her.

"What the hell!" they heard Luna shout, as they had all watched Luna's weapon being destroyed right before their eyes. The lacking sound of gunfire was a clear indication that she was out of ichor, she couldn't use any of her gifts and now her bayonet was gone.

She was completely defenseless.

"This is bad!" at Yakumo's response they sprinted towards her. Shock took over her, leaving her unable to move. In an instant she was left with nothing to fight with. No ichor to use her gifts, no weapon to attack or use to block attacks, nothing. "Luna get out of there!" hearing Yakumo's command, Luna could see the tail hanging high above her.

"_There's no way I can dodge that!" _she screamed in her head, _"no it can't end like this!"_ as the Butterfly of Delirium launched it's tail at her, Luna froze; she didn't know how she could avoid this attack. Dark purple liquid dripping from its razor sharp teeth, its jaw was slightly open giving her a glimpse at the darkness inside of its mouth.

Closing her eyes tightly, "Luna!" something shoved her, as her body struck the ground, but it didn't feel like the beast. "Aaahhh!" The metal blade hitting the ground was muffled by Louis's cry of pain. Opening her eyes, she could see Louis closeby gasping in agony.

"Louis! No!" Luna hurried over to him, holding him in her arms. "Louis! Say something!" she screamed at him. _"Fuck! Why did you have to save me?" _Luna felt immense guilt take over her senses, _"I froze up, I should have taken that blow! Not you!"_

"Hey!" turning towards the sound of Yakumo's voice, she could see the Butterfly of Delirium was locked onto him. "Get him out of here!" he motioned towards an area of the battlefield to her, as he blocked the attacks with his large two handed blade, "I'll hold her off!"

Grabbing his arm, Luna lifted Louis up as much as she could leaving Yakumo to fight off the Butterfly of Delirium. Carefully setting him down, she reached into her pouch pulling out her last antivenom. She could hear him panting deeply for air through his purifier mask; the last hit attack from the beast was a direct hit leaving him poisoned severely. Propping him up, Luna could feel the poisonous fluid that coated his back.

"Luna stop…." Louis panted, he knew what she was going to do. "You need it."

Shaking her head, "I'm sorry Louis, but we have no time to argue about this." she ignored his pleas, "it's my fault you got hurt, I shouldn't have stood there like an idiot." Injecting the antidote in his arm, Luna looked over at the fragments of her bayonet on the ground. "Just stay here, I'm going to make sure this ends now," she said to him before grabbing Louis's blade.

"Luna," Louis grunted her name, even though the poison was beginning to subside the weakness he felt lingered, "what are you doing?"

"I'm gonna borrow this for a minute," she told him. "Please…. Let me end this." Turning back to face the battlefield, despite Yakumo's spirited tauntings at the Butterfly of Delirium she knew that he wasn't going to hold out much longer. "I'm not going to let you guys disperse." Even though dispersing was better than having your heart destroyed it still wasn't pleasant. The thought of losing your memories at the cost of revival was a steep price to pay, she wasn't going to let them lose any of their memories because of her mistake. "I don't have any memories….so if I disperse…. I won't lose anything."

Closing her eyes,_**"do you need me to help you again?" **_the voice echoed in her mind. Luna remembered she had heard it once before, back when they first fought Oliver at the Crossroads. A chill ran down her spine, she didn't want to say yes or reply but she knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer herself.

"_Who are you?"_ she questioned the voice. _"Tell me who you are!"_

"_**Answer my question…. Do you want me to lend you my strength?" **_it asked her again. Luna knew last time she heard it she didn't remember anything that happened. The feeling of something controlling her body started to grow stronger. _**"We don't really have time for games here, so tell me what's it gonna be?"**_

Gritting her teeth, the poison in her body was starting to eat at her remaining strength. One more hit and she would disperse, tightening her grip on Louis'_s sword. "I want to help them. Protect them!"_

The voice began to laugh,_**"I'll take that as a yes."**_ Luna felt her mind slowly starting to melt away, as everything around her began to vanish. _**"Let the fun begin."**_

Feeling something inside of her stirring, her pain vanished leading to a rush of energy to consume her. Opening her eyes, the darkness enveloped the whites of them as the glow of her blue irises locked onto the target. Yakumo held onto his weapon tensely, staring down at the beast. The monster tail attached to it, drooling poison its yellow eyes hungrily glaring at him. Yakumo was nearly out of breath, he was reaching his limit. "You're going down!" lifting his sword, he could feel a heaviness that was foreign to him.

"That's my line!" Luna shouted, jumping off of his sword launching herself towards the Butterfly of Delirium. Her arms and legs wrapping tightly around its tail, the beast screeching in shock as it began to thrash around to shake her off. "I'm going to end this!"

Holding onto its tail, Luna refused to let go of it as it swung her around violently. She needed to wait for the right moment, this was her only chance. "Luna!" Yakumo shouted her name, he had never seen anyone attempt to do something like that. He flinched as it tried to bang her against the walls of the battlefield. "What the hell?" He knew something wasn't right, he knew that something was different. Swinging upward, she released her grip flying upwards in the air.

They were both speechless, watching as she floated over the Butterfly of Delirium for a brief moment as the monster itself didn't know how to react. She was too high up, leaving herself wide open for an attack. "She's not going to survive!" Louis stood up, his body riddled with pain despite being cured of the poison. He needed to get to her before she hit the ground.

Looking down at her target, Luna placed her hand on the middle of Louis's crimson sword she knew she couldn't mess this up. This was the only chance she would get, the damage of the fall would be too much for any Revenant. Plummeting back down, she moved her body as needed to ensure she hit her mark.

"_**Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"**_ the voice screamed in her head over and over again. Feeling little to no resistance against the sword, the wings of the Butterfly of Delirium were hacked off, turning to ash. Reaching the ground, Luna rolle to lessen the fall. She couldn't feel any of the damage of her descent back down.

"Luna!" Yakumo was stunned to see that she was able to stand after falling from such a height, she even managed to severely injure their opponent. "What the hell?" his whole body felt frozen as he could see the blue illumination in her eyes, an eerie coldness ensnared them; almost like she was lifeless. _"What's going on here!?"_

They didn't know what to do, as they watched Luna raise up Louis's sword and with no hesitation, slashed off the beastly tail of her opponent. Its wailing cries shook the entire area around them, as it collapsed to the ground in pain. Louis couldn't believe what he was seeing. She had taken so much damage during their fight, and yet she was able to eliminate their opponent with ease. "Yo Louis…. Look at her eyes." Yakumo pointed out.

A chill ran through his body, the illuminating blue eyes encased by the darkness of her eyes. Void of any life or emotions. Louis couldn't speak. He had seen those eyes before, he searched his memories but couldn't find where he had seen them before. His heart started to beat fast, a surge of terror took over him. _"What's going on? Why do I feel this way?" _

Taking a few steps towards the creature, its body flailing against the ground. The howls of pain that escaped its mouth was nearly enough to make someone feel sorry for it, but she felt nothing of the sort. Her blue eyes gazed upon it, the poison that once surrounded it was gone as the black blood from its wounds pooled around it. "You pitiful creature…." Luna spoke to it in a low voice, its eyes looking up at her like it was begging for mercy. Summoning the elongated stinger blade forming from behind her, the glow of its bright red center shined upon Luna's face.

"Die."

Snapping her fingers, the blade of her Blood Veil stabbed through the Butterfly of Delirium its blood coating every inch of it. Pulling it out, her eyes watched as it turned to dust. _**"Thanks for the fun….Looks like you don't need me anymore…."**_

Fatigue took over her, the sound of Louis's sword hitting the ground didn't register as she collapsed. They didn't hesitate to rush over to her, Yakumo shook her as she didn't budge. "Luna! Hey wake up! Wake up!" he shook her, he pushed the concerns of what they witnessed aside as he turned her over onto her back he could hear her breathing was starting to grow weaker.

Louis put aside his own injuries as he rushed over to Luna, Yakumo was still trying to shake her awake but her eyes wouldn't open. Looking behind him at the mistle, "we need to get her to the mistle." he told Yakumo. Grabbing his sword they both carefully picked Luna up, carrying her towards the mistle. The sounds of her pained exhales worried them, they didn't know how much damage she had taken during that fiasco; the fact that she hadn't dispersed was a miracle.

Gently laying her down, Louis pulled the glove off of her hand. Pulling out a dagger, he drew the blade across her palm allowing her blood to spill from the wound and onto the mistle. The darkness of the mistle began to fade, as the plant began to glow with life. The denseness of the air around them began to clear, making it easier for them to breathe. Taking off his mask, Yakumo kneeled down next to the mistle, his body recovering from the fight.

"She might be tough, but she's reckless." shaking his head, Yakumo couldn't get the image out of his mind. Those piercing blue eyes, the brutality of her final blow. He may not have known her long, but the way she fought was a complete opposite of how she usually did. Cold, callous. It was true that most Revenants were that way, but he wouldn't expect something like that from her.

Watching the cut on her hand heal, Louis slipped the glove back onto her hand. The way she took down the Butterfly of Delirium was almost identical to how she defeated the massive Lost at the Crossroads. "I'm glad she's with us." Yakumo laughed, trying not to think about what he saw. The thought of those eyes sent shivers down his spine. "I'm gonna have to stay on her good side."

Louis smiled behind his mask, "yea…. I don't think either one of us would want to be in a fight against her." he knew that Yakumo had seen it too, there was no denying it.

Yakumo looked towards the stubborn Revenant from earlier, his unconscious body was still in the same place. The girl was still nowhere in sight, a good thing for now. "So what are we gonna do about that jerk?" he questioned Louis.

"We'll knock some sense into him if we have to." Louis answered him, feeling the effects of the poison and his own exhaustion beginning to fade. Standing on his feet, they walked towards the Revenant leaving Luna to rest by the mistle.

"Wasn't Luna supposed to do that?"

"We're doing it for her." As much as they wanted to give Luna her shot at him, they prioritized her recovery over her want of dealing with the arrogant Revenant.

The sound of muffled groaning escaped from the Revenant, shaking himself awake. Placing a hand upon his head he surveyed the area, "what the hell?" he weakly spoke in curiosity. He couldn't see the human anywhere, nor the monster that had knocked him out.

Footsteps captured his attention, "you awake?" Louis glared at him.

Jumping to his feet, he reached for his weapon but it was nowhere near him. "Where is the girl!?" he shouted at the two men standing before him. "Answer me! Where the hell is she?!" the anger in his voice echoed in the quietness around them.

"We're taking custody of the girl. She will no longer be forced to serve Revenants like you."

Rage consumed him, making his blood boil. His body was shaking due to the sheer amount of frustration. Looking ahead he could see the female Revenant that threatened him earlier laying beside the revived mistle, "let's see if you feel the same way once I kill your companion!" before he could move, the sound of a gun clicking stopped him dead in his tracks.

Holding up his handgun towards him, "you touch one hair on her head and you're ash." Yakumo threatened him.

Shaking his head, "this is bullshit! Why are you protecting those pathetic humans?" he yelled at them. "We were forced to come back to life, only to fight and protect them! We die over and over again, just to protect them. They don't even bother to try and help us instead they're locked away from the horrors while we're here in this never ending battle of survival."

"That doesn't mean you can just use them how you want." Yakumo wanted to take this jerk down, the way he spoke only fueled his own animosity towards him.

"You really don't think so?" he scoffed, "we live with this terrible thirst and fear joining the ranks of the Lost, some of us died at the hands of the Queen over and over again and for whose sake? It was all done for those pitiful humans. If blood is the only price they have to pay then I'd say it's a pretty good deal."

Yakumo kept his gun pointed at him, his finger on the trigger, "humans are not possessions for Revenants to keep and use, they have rights." Yakumo declared.

"Then what about the rights of Revenants, do you think we asked for this sort of revival because we thought it would be fun?" he sarcastically questioned, "look at your fucking friend! Do you think she chose this life? Do you think she wants to have to fear her own sanity? She's exhausted and injured from battle just to save a damn human, she and the rest of us are forced to fight for our own survival."

Throwing a small bag towards the Revenant, "that should be enough to get you through a month." a single blood bead rolling out from its beige strings.

"Louis! What are you doing?!" Yakumo had no idea that Louis had packed so many with them, the fact that he was just giving them to some low life was infuriating to him.

Pointing his blade towards him, "just make sure that you and I never cross paths again," glancing towards Luna. "And if you ever threaten her again, I'll be sure to end you." the fire burned in his eyes. "This is your one and only warning."

He knew that blade, there was no denying it. "The Crimson Sword…. No way." he had rumors about a Revenant with a crimson sword who was an expert at exterminating the Lost. A skilled fighter that took down their targets with efficiency, someone you never wanted to fight against. Leaning down he grabbed the blood beads, holding them tight before running out of sight.

Shaking his head, "I guess we're back to what we once had again." Yakumo knew that those blood beads were the same ones that Luna had given to them. Even though they didn't need them, it was nice knowing they had more than enough to get them by for the next couple of months.

Walking over to Luna they could see her starting to wake up, as she managed to sit up. They both kneeled down next to her as her eyes wandered all over the battlefield. There was no sign of the Butterfly of Delirium anywhere or that arrogant Revenant, even the poison that once filled the air had cleared up.. Placing her hand upon her head, she could feel a slight panging at the front of her head. "What happened?" she asked. "Where's the Butterfly of Delirium?"

"You don't remember?" Yakumo questioned, he was relieved to see that she was back to herself.

"Remember what?" Luna could see the worry in their eyes, "all I remember is grabbing Louis and the next thing I know I'm laying right here." she told them.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Louis tried to hide the immense relief he felt. "It doesn't matter, what's important is that you're still here." looking over the pieces of her broken weapon. "Though I can't say the same thing for your weapon."

Searching around her, Luna tried to find the bayonet but quickly remembered what had happened to it. Sighing, "I hope Murasame won't be too mad at me for letting it get destroyed." she spoke, as she staggered to her feet. Feeling Louis keep a light hold on her to keep her balance, Luna could feel a light burning sensation across her cheeks.

"She'll understand," Yakumo spoke lightly kicking the broken bayonet. He had seen weapons before be destroyed by the Lost in battle, even something like the older model ones were vulnerable to breaking. Patting her on the back, "we'll need to get you set up with a new one though."

Nodding her head, "yea." a thought snapped in the back of her mind, "wait! Where's that jackass? And the girl! Is she-?"

"He didn't leave with the girl." Louis reassured her, they all looked towards the entrance way that was hidden behind the white webbing, "there's a bloodspring in there, let's go check it out." continuing along with their expedition, they both kept a close eye on Luna. Even though she rested by the mistle, whatever came over her definitely took its toll on her physically.

"Luna…. You gonna be ok?" Yakumo asked her, the fact that they were still continuing despite the fact that she didn't have a weapon was a bit worrisome.

Nodding her head, "yea…. I'm sure I can find a pipe or something and just use that as a weapon if that's what's concerning you." she answered him. Walking into the slightly darkened cavern, they maneuvered around the large boxes and car shrapnel that was ensnared in the webbing. The winding path slowly started to open up, orange traffic cones and boxes piled high in the corner, the amount of dust on them showing the years of abandonment. In the center the bloodspring, withered and dry, "I'm starting to wonder why I even keep this glove on," Luna sighed, exposing her palm.

Putting the dagger to her skin, the faint line showed the previous cuts she had carved into her flesh. Pushing it into her hand, Luna tilted her hand, allowing a few drops of her blood to fall onto the roots of the blood spring. The familiar sound of wood cracking filled the small space, blinded by the bright light the branches extended, the blood spring itself almost doubling in size. Blood beads sprouting in various sizes, "wow…" Yakumo was nearly speechless, "this is amazing!" jokingly holding Luna in a headlock, "where the hell have you been all this time!?"

Louis smiled, it was amazing. She had a power that could help not only them, but other Revenants as well, kneeling down "ok, we can trace the flow of the blood beads from here. Give me a moment," spilling a few drops of a luminescent golden fluid, a line started to glow from the blood spring. Examining the path, "our destination is this way." they all looked at the black metal framed elevator.

"Strange place for that thing," Luna whispered. "Let's just hope it works." A new scent covered the air, she knew this smell. Gritting her teeth, she tried to keep herself under control.

"Come out, we know you're there." Yakumo informed the individual. Stepping out from behind the boxes, the human girl from earlier shakily stood before them. Her blood covering the handle of the large knife she held against her neck.

"What are you…?"

"Stay back!" she shouted at them.

Taking a small step forward, "just take it easy, we aren't going to hurt you." Luna tried to calm the girl down.

"I'm the one who decides how I want to live my life! I'm done listening to Revenants like you!" she screamed at them, the terror in her voice making each of her words sound shaky.

"That's fine, just put the knife down." Yakumo said to the human.

"I'm sick of it, day after day of having my blood sucked by any passing Revenant!" Tears formed in her eyes, "I'm not an animal!"

Taking a few steps forward, "you're right…. And we can help you." he spoke to her, "we know someone who can take you to one of the government shelters. If you ask them, I'm sure they'll take you in and you'll be able to live in safety."

Shock overcame her, as she lowered the knife. "What?"

"You won't have to spend your days living in fear of Revenants anymore, although you will be asked to donate blood." Louis informed her, digging into one of his pockets. Pulling out a slip of paper, "all the information you need is right here. You're the one who decides how you live." turning his back to her, they all walked towards the elevator.

"It's a trick…." Luna glanced over her shoulder at her. "Why would you be trying to help me?"

"I think the time for sacrifice is over. That's all." Louis answered her. The woman didn't speak for a moment, her eyes reading over the information on the piece of paper. "Alright let's get moving."

Stepping into the elevator, Luna couldn't see any buttons or anything that would make it move. Placing her foot on the edge of the orange and black circle the doors sealed shut as it made its descent down. "Well…. That worked."

"Yea…." Louis muttered, looking at Luna. "We'll head back to base as soon as we get an idea of what we're dealing with next." he told her, "if any Lost do show up, Yakumo and I will deal with them."

Crossing her arms, "fine." She hated the idea of not being able to fight, but with limited ichor and no weapons she knew it was a good idea. _"Worst case scenario I'll use my blood veil."_

The elevator stopped, the creaking of metal doors sliding open pierced their ears, the sound was almost like nails on a chalkboard. Hesitantly walking out, the tunnel was illuminated by the glow of the thorns that were embedded in the sides, "this tunnel was most likely built when the miasma was thin." Yakumo said, "be interesting to see where it leads."

"Yea, let's get go check it out." Both men started running down the tunnel, placing her hands on her hips Luna shook her head. "Don't fall behind!" Louis shouted. Hearing the sounds of her heels clicking with each hurried step, they all made their way through.

Luna felt like they were running for a while, as the red glow of sunset shined into the tunnel. Slowing down she could black spikes piercing through the red colored walls, dark chains hung onto the dried coral that decorated the area. The cliff-like space was a bit slimmer than what they would have expected. Standing close to the edge, more black spikes of large sizes could be seen. One in particular caught her eye, as a whole ship was impaled through with the black spike. "What the hell?" Luna whispered. It was like the ocean had vanished, causing the sea life that once roamed it to vanish and the vessels that traveled along the waves to be a reminder of what was once here.

"This place has changed completely too," Louis spoke. It had been years since they were last here, except this path wasn't around and the ground was more present than what it was.

Sighing, "yea… it seems everything changed since the Great Collapse. The only thing that has stayed the same is our appearance." Yakumo stated, they all looked out at the endless devastation before them. "Come on. There's a mistle up ahead, we should get back to base."

Nodding their heads in agreement, they began making their way towards the dried mistle. _"It's my fault…." _Louis's voice echoed.

Stopping, "you say something Louis?"

Stunned, "no."

"_Why didn't I-!"_ his voice rang out again.

Looking down at the ground, the aura that surrounded it was the only thing that showed that it was vestige. The coloring was so similar to their new surroundings that they could have easily missed it. "Is this…. Is this really my-?" he looked at Luna. Something was drawing it to him, the memories inside that belonged to him. His heart pounded. What secrets did it hold? What would it show them? Nodding her head, Luna knew what to do.

Grabbing it, the vestige reacted to her presence. "Ahh!" Spikes stabbing through her hand, holding the vestige in front of Louis the blue aura swirled around her arm and the vestige as they were consumed by the blinding bright light.

* * *

_Opening his eyes Yakumo inspected the new area they were in. Before him was a large cement building that appeared to be several stories tall, a pair of dark metal like material doors were sealed shut. Looking over he could see Luna next to him, but no sign of Louis anywhere. "Where are we?" he asked her. _

"_This is a memory echo, Io says it's a place where lost memories of those still wander." she answered him. "This place…..It's part of his memory." she spoke. Hearing the footsteps behind them, they turned to see who was approaching them. _

"_No way…." the outfit he wore was similar to the one he normally wore. Brushing the hair from his face, his once red eyes were now green. The lack of his crimson sword and blood veil confirmed what they saw, "this is when Louis was…"_

_Nodding her head, they watched him walk towards the doors as they slowly slid open. "From when he was a human," Luna could feel a strange feeling in her chest, it was like happiness, but not quite. They stayed close to him, "this is strange…." Luna whispered, they watched him sigh a book at the desk. _

"_What is?" _

"_This is different…. The last memory echo we were sucked into….. It wasn't this…." she didn't know the right word to say._

"_Real?"_

_Sighing, "guess you could say that."_

"_Hey Louis! Are your classes done for today?" a man questioned him._

"_Is Cruz awake?" he asked the man. _

"_She sure is, in fact she's in a pretty good mood today too. Go on ahead and see her, here's your visitation pass." the man handed Louis a laminated piece of white paper._

"_Thanks." _

_Walking down the hallway, "what is this place?" Yakumo inquired, it didn't look like any hospital he had seen before. Glancing over at Luna, she remained silent. "You ok?" he stopped her._

_Luna couldn't shake what she was feeling, "I'm fine. Let's keep following him." she told Yakumo, walking to the last door down the hall, a woman's laughter could be heard._

"_And then? What did the professor say?" the woman's voice asked him. _

"_He said…. 'Well there's no cure like the obscure.'" he spoke a lower tone._

_The woman laughed once again, pushing the door open Luna's eyes widened in shock. Numerous machines and monitors lined the walls of the room, numbers in red either stayed the same or changed. Sitting in the chair close to the bed, he smiled at the woman. Luna had seen her before. It was the same woman that had awoken her, the same one that was in her dreams and showed her where the vestige fragment was. "Cruz…." the woman finally had a name. _

"_Haha! Another groaner!" she cheered, the smile on her face was heartwarming. _

"_I hope the experiments end soon, so how are you feeling?"_

"_I'm fine, could be worse. Your sister has been taking good care of me, so…. Don't worry." Cruz reassured him, "I'm the only one that can do this…." looking down at her hands, "besides…. I have you and the others looking out for me….." _

"_I think you're forgetting someone." _

"_Yea…." Cruz sighed, "I just wish I could see Luna."_

_Her eyes widened, "did she?" she whispered to herself. Cruz spoke her name, "did she mean me?" as everything around them started to fade to blackness. The cramped space of the room changed, as they were once again back outside of the facility. "We're back here again?"_

_This time the doors were wide open, "oh you're here early again Louis." the way he spoke made them both feel a bit unsettled, "is school on a break right now?"_

"_Yea, the professors are devoting all their time to research lately…. How's Cruz?" _

"_Well, we're having a hard time suppressing what's causing the rejection." the man informed him, "ordinarily we wouldn't let you see her, but…" sliding the visitors card towards Louis._

_He quickly took it, "I see. Thanks. I appreciate it."_

_Walking down the hallway, Luna looked over at Yakumo. "What did that man mean by rejection?" she asked him. _

"_When someone is injected with the BOR parasite, their bodies respond differently to it. Some are fine and will wake up right away, while others…. Their bodies will fight it, either due to incompatibility or other reasons and they aren't exactly pleasant." he briefly explained to her. "I've even seen Revenants go through rejection years after, most of the time they joined the ranks of the Lost."_

"_I see…." Luna muttered._

"_S'it hurt?" Louis asked Cruz. Laying on the bed, her hand was barely touching the cords attached to her chest. _

"_Yea…" she answered him, looking into her eyes they could see the tears beginning to form. "Why?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Why did it have to be me?" Cruz questioned, curling into a ball she gasped in pain. Her body convulsed as she struggled to maintain herself._

"_Cruz!"_

"_I…. won't stop fighting…." she breathed, "I won't give up…..I won't lose!" Cruz shouted. _

_Everything began to change around them, metal walls appeared before taking the shape of the hallway as Louis and Cruz vanished. The floors were extremely uneven, as even parts of the walls and ceiling were in disarray. "Do all memory echoes change like this?" _

_Shaking her head, "no…. Only this one."_

_Cruz's pain filled sobs bounced off the walls, "please…. Please, Louis….. I'm….. I'm sorry…." she cried out._

"_Cruz….I-I can't!" they could hear Louis's anguished response._

"_Louis….stop me….please….please…." Cruz weeped, "kill me."_

"_I can't!" _

_Continuing along, the large metal door at the end of the hallway creeped open as they saw what lay on the other side. The metal doors of the facility were blown off of it's hinges, fragments covered in blood were sprawled along the ground. Large amounts of dark crimson liquid covered the walls and floors as they cautiously entered inside. "This is horrible…." Yakumo muttered under his breath._

_Going down the hallway, blood nearly coated the walls and floors, "no…." Louis spoke. Entering into the room, they could see him kneeling before the bed where Cruz once was. The machines along the walls were demolished, her bed broken and soaking with blood. "What have I done?"_

"_Ahhh!"_

"_Wraahhh!"_

"_Someone help!"_

_Voices cried out in pain and help, the scene around Luna and Yakumo crumbled away as a new one began to open up to them. Fire burned all over the mounds of debris and devastation, people lying along the shattered ground engulfed by their own blood and flames. "Run Louis…. Save yourself…." looking up they could see Louis holding a woman in his arms._

"_Karen!" he shouted her name, tears streaming down his face. "It's my fault…. Why didn't I…."_

"_Louis!" Yakumo looked over at Luna, confusion in her face. They both heard her voice crying his name. "I didn't say anything…." she quietly spoke, her gaze turned upward as Cruz levitated above Louis. Holding her left hand up, numerous white spears manifest around her. "No…." _

_The spears shot towards them, as Luna covered her head with her arms. The sounds around them died down, moving her arms away she could see the familiar ornate gate that would lead them out of the memory echo. Luna could see Louis had returned to them, visibly shaken by what they saw. Not saying a word to either of them, she began walking up the stone steps entering into the light._

* * *

Huffing, Luna could still feel the lingering pain in her hand. Pushing herself up, she could see the saddened look on Louis's face. "Nobody would want to relive that…." he said to them both, before turning his back to them. "I couldn't stop Cruz from going into a frenzy… so many people lost their lives, including my sister…" sighing, "I wanted to forget my frailty."

"Louis…." Luna whispered his name, the pain in his voice resonated inside of her. She felt her heart aching as each word he spoke made it hurt more and more.

"But…. if we can find the Source we can help save Revenants from the thirst they suffer. We can finally put an end to all this suffering and free not only ourselves, but others from this nightmare." he confidently spoke. "We can eliminate Silva's levy and hopefully, both humans and Revenants can live together in peace. I'm going to take responsibility for my past, I believe it's the least that I can do."

Taking a few steps towards Louis, Yakumo patted his friend on the back. "Then stop talking about and let's get it done! Are we going to end this nightmare or not?" they could tell he was smiling behind his purifier mask. "You can't move forward if you're always looking back."

Nodding his head, "yea…." turning his attention to Luna, the glow of the newly activated mistle illuminated her. He knew that Luna heard her name and her voice in those fragments of his memory, "Luna...I-"

Removing her mask, Louis could see the half smile on her face. "Must be weird….. Knowing two girls with the same name…. I didn't know it was a common one." she joked.

"Luna…" Yakumo saw the expression on her face when they heard her name, confusion, sorrow.

"Anyway we should probably get back, I wanna go check on Io." her body slowly started to disperse, her mind concentrating on getting back to base. _"Cruz….Louis…. What exactly is going on?"_

* * *

*so funny thing about the ladder thing, I wanted to make a joke about taking fall damage in the game. I know there are some places that you don't, but there are ones that you do so that was my little funny for this chapter.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it, I know it's a bit different than what happened in the game but when I thought of this story a lot of things I wrote where kind of already decided. I'll try to update again a lot sooner, I'm aiming for next Friday at the latest!


	7. Midnight Thoughts

Luna sighed.

The sound of the waterfall in the corner of the hotsprings filled the open space, lit candles and the burning fire of the fireplace was giving off an amber hue all around her as the steam from the water made her face feel more hydrated. The muscle and body aches that afflicted her earlier vanished as the hot water helped her relax. Sitting deeper in the water, her nose barely hovering over it as with each exhale through her nose caused small little ripples to dance.

Hot Springs could only do so much, it may have helped her body but her head was still spinning.

The vestige they had found at the entrance to the Dried-Up Trenches only created more questions. After discovering that Io could fix broken vestiges and viewing the memories inside, her suspicions were confirmed. Most of the fragments belonged to Louis with a few belonging to a Revenant named Kevin that had met Louis in the past who unfortunately met his end. She was able to restore his lost memories and even though he was grateful, thanking her numerous times, he couldn't hide the pain in his eyes.

Though the memories that were locked inside were painful to watch, Kevin had been through so much suffering and manipulation. Even though she had a glimpse at what Oliver had gone through before their own encounter, it was still horrible to see. So many Revenants used one another for their own survival, not caring what fate was waiting for them. Some did it for fear of dying on the battlefield, others to assert dominance, and many other reasons that she didn't feel justified their actions.

Then there were Louis's memories, showing the hardships that he had faced after he had awoken. She knew that he still felt guilty about everything that happened, because of his inability to kill a friend. He had spent who knows how long in constant battle not only to survive, but to also escape how he truly felt about the cost of his actions. Despite all that, they didn't give her the answers that she needed. Luna was a complete loss. A Revenant who woke up with no memories of her own past, gifted with an ability that no one else had and now….. A potential tie to Louis and the Queen.

Moving to the deeper end of the hot springs, Luna took a deep breath before fully submerged in the water. _"Why did it have to be me?"_ Cruz inquired that same question, the very same one that Luna asked herself after she had awakened. Two women, both turned into Revenants with exceptional talents but while one met their demise another was the only hope of salvation. _"Cruz…. Did you and Louis know me?"_ a few bubbles of air slipped from her mouth and nostrils.

Searching her mind, she still couldn't find any memories that could have linked them to either of them. Lifting her head from the water, her black and silver hair glued itself to her skin. Swimming to the edge, Luna wrapped her body with the towel as she rang the water from her hair. Stepping into the changing room, she threw on the dark tank top and shorts that Murasame had given her after their return.

Drying her hair with the towel, she could still parts of it were still a tab damp but nothing to concern her. Reaching for the door, Luna jumped as it began to open. Placing her hand on her chest, "Io you scared me…." she sighed, trying to calm her beating heart. Her large golden eyes gazed at Luna curiously.

"I'm sorry," Io apologized. "They said I could find you here…" her voice gently spoke.

"Is there something you needed to talk to me about?" Luna questioned her as they walked towards her room. Shutting the door behind them, Io and Luna sat on the bed.

Io looked around the room, folding her hands on her lap. "You seem…. Puzzled. I tried to ask Yakumo and Louis, but they said they didn't know." Io explained. Since their return Luna had been quiet, like she was lost in herself. "Did something happen on your trip?"

Pulling her hair over her shoulder, "Io…." Luna didn't realize how well Io could read people. She knew that Murasame and Coco were most likely under the impression that she was still adjusting to being here, so they didn't try to pry. "I'm sorry if I worried you at all…. It's just…. I…." Luna didn't even know what to talk about. There were too many conflicting thoughts in her mind for her to decide just one thing.

Tilting her head, "Luna?"

Exhaling, "Io….I have no memory of my previous life…. I have no idea how I became a Revenant or how old I was…" Luna spoke. "I know nothing of any friends or family…. Or really anything…. I'd be lying if I said I could go on without them, but-" feeling a tear slip from her eye. Io placed her hand on her shoulder. "Io?"

"I know… I feel the same way." Io said, "I don't really know why I'm here and I still wonder what compelled me to search for you."

"How long did you search for me?" Luna asked her, she never really thought about it before. One of the first things that Io had told her was that she meant to be at her side, but was still unaware of who gave her that order. The bandages that wrapped her leg were new, but the ones that once covered her legs told stories of her own fights and travels.

"I'm not quite sure how long, but it was awhile…" Io sighed, "but that is besides the point. I'm certain you'll find your memories," smiling at Luna. "There might be vestiges out there containing them. If you find them, you'll be able to restore them not only for yourself but maybe me. Just like you restored Louis's memories."

Lying down on her bed, "yea…. Louis…"

Tilting her head "Did he do something? He seems so nice." Io frowned. "Should I go talk with him?"

Waving her hands, "no! He didn't…" she muttered. "It's just…" that strange sensation came over her again, "I don't really know…" she spoke. Taking a deep breath, "there was a vestige we found that belonged to him, the memories inside…. They were painful to watch. I can't imagine how he must be feeling, I know he's thanked me for giving them back to him but there was something there that I can't get out of my head."

"Like what?"

"Io…. I think I knew him before," she answered her. "I know there are others who share the same name as me, if it was just then… I guess it wouldn't bother me as much. But I swear, I heard my voice and I didn't even say anything…."

"Do you think that Louis knows you?" Io inquired, "do you think he would tell you if he did?"

"I mean….maybe...I mean I would, but then again… maybe not." Luna said indecisively. "I mean it would be weird to just say to someone that has no memory of their past, that you know them… I guess it would potentially lead to a misunderstanding."

"But wouldn't you be happy that someone knows you?"

Shaking her head, "I mean… I'd find it really suspicious. You wake up in a world, overrun by monsters and absolute chaos. You have to fight to survive and search for a substance to keep your sanity, not to mention there are individuals who force those who are weaker than them to search for them….." she vaguely reminded her of what happened to them when they first met. "Honestly…. I wouldn't believe them."

"I guess that makes sense…."

Standing up from the bed, "Io… I should probably get some rest, Louis and Yakumo want to have a discussion in the morning about the next area we'll be exploring." walking Io to the door, "Io, thanks for talking with me… I really appreciate it." It had helped her a bit to speak to someone about her thoughts, it may not have been entirely what was bothering her but still it helped.

"I'm here if you need me, please do not hesitate if you need me." Io assured her. "Goodnight Luna."

"Goodnight."

Shutting the door, Luna pulled the beaded cord to her lamp as the room filled with the tinted red glow from the Gaol of the Mists. Crawling into bed, she cocooned herself in the thick blankets. Closing her eyes, it wasn't long before she drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Looking out the window, it appeared to be just another day coming to an end. The red hues of sunset began fading to black, the stars slowly began showing themselves. Glancing down at the table she sat at, various textbooks and notes were sprawled out over the flat surface. Grabbing a few sheets of paper, Luna looked over the information that was written on them. "Huh?" _

_Numerous mathematical calculations and chemistry notes, records of reactions of certain chemicals and materials, along with through detailed information of various other medical and biological topics. All of this looked so familiar, but yet so foreign. "What's going on?" the sound of metal scratching against the tile ground made her jump, glancing over her shoulder her jaw nearly dropped. "Louis?" _

_He sat close to her, she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Holding the pen in between his fingers he lightly tapped on the piece of paper before him, leaving small little scratches upon it. His eyes glanced over at her, sheer shock took over. His eyes were not the shade of red that she remembered, but instead green just like when she and Yakumo were in the memory echo. "Is something wrong?" he asked her. _

_Shaking her head, "no nothing wrong…." those weren't the words she wanted to say, but something forced her to say them. She wanted to ask him what's going on, "just a lot to take in that's all." she spoke again. _

_Louis chuckled, "that's what happens when you don't take studying seriously." _

_Crossing her arms across her chest, Luna shook her head. "Says you…." she told him. Unable to control her body, Luna looked around the room as she felt compelled to look for something. "By the way wasn't Cruz supposed to be here by now?" she questioned. Luna didn't know what was going on, her body was acting completely on its own, unable to move or say what she really wanted. She felt like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings._

"_Yea, she needed to pick up some stuff for her class. She'll be here any minute." Wrapping her arm around her shoulder, Louis pulled Luna close to him. Feeling her face starting to burn up, "why? Is my company not enough for you?" he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver. _

_Lightly pushing him, "oh stop it, we don't have time to play around." she laughed. Her rapid heart beat pounding against her chest, "once finals are over we should do something!" Luna rested her head against his shoulder._

_Raising an eyebrow, "like what?"_

"_I don't know some-" the beating sound of rumbling, stopped her. The strong vibrations caused the books at the end of their table to cascade to the ground. "Louis?" The vibrations drastically evolved into violent shaking causing the glass windows to shatter fragments of glass burst in every direction. Covering the back of her head with her hands, Luna curled herself up. The roar of buildings and earth echoed all across. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Louis dropped down under the table with Luna in his arms, his back towards the now decimated windows. _

"_I've got you!" he reassured her, pressing her head against his chest. Holding her tight, Louis flinched as the shards of debris cutting his skin as he guarded her as much as he could. Screams of anguish and need mixed with the ensuing chaos around them. The quakes continued to rock the foundation of the building as waves of destruction slammed against them. Sensing everything die down, Luna cautiously pulled her head away as she gazed at Louis. Locking eyes, he could see the faint scratches on her face from the glass. "Are you hurt?"_

_Shaking her head, "no…" she answered him. Carefully getting out from under the table, they were both stunned by the sight before them. The once tall buildings that adorned their city were now reduced to decrepit wreckage. Large black spikes stabbing through the ground ranging in heights and size an ominous yellow glow shined from the inside of the spikes. "What the hell just happened?" she questioned._

"_I don't know but we need to get out of here," grabbing her hand, they maneuvered through the pieces of debris that filled the space. Others who had once accompanied the space with them were now running for safety, her eyes could see parts of individuals under the pieces of shattered building while their screams and pleads for help rang in her ears. _

"_What about Cruz?" she inquired, knowing that he had said she was closeby before everything happened. "We need to get her!" _

_Nodding his head, "right!" he knew that he couldn't disagree with her. "Let's hurry and find her!"_

_They both ran down the hallway. "Cruz!" Luna shouted, running down the corridor. "Cruz!" she didn't know how long this hallway was, as there weren't any doors or any indication that it would come to an end. "Cruz please answer me!" she cried out. Stopping in her tracks, she looked all around her at the vast emptiness down each path. Looking over her shoulder, she couldn't see any trace of Louis anywhere. "Louis?"_

_She didn't know what was happening. Moving her hand, Luna could feel that she finally had control again. "Louis, run!" Luna jumped as she heard her own voice, echoing in the space. "I promise Cruz, I'll save you!" the strange familiarity of those phrases resonated in her. Turning around, she rubbed her eyes. A large metal door manifested before her. The muffled sound of screams and gunfire lay behind it._

_Grabbing the handle, she slowly pulled it open. Flames bursted out at her, as she could feel something grab hold of her body. Thick strands of darkness binding her, a strong pressure around her throat. Luna tried to break free from the unknown beings grip, as she could feel her energy draining. Barely keeping her eyes open, something appeared before her. A figure cloaked in a dark blue aura stood before her. "What the hell are you?" she mustered._

_A laugh escaped the figure, piercing blue eyes struck her deep like her entire body was impaled with daggers. "You'll never escape what you've done… __**Luna…."**_

* * *

"Luna…" Louis shook her again, he watched her eyes slowly starting to open up, "Luna…. Come on time to wake up." Shooting out of bed, Luna grabbed Louis's hand tightly. He could feel her shaking, "what's wrong?" he could see the fear in her bloodshot eyes.

Luna didn't feel like she slept at all, everything was so surreal. Everything that happened felt so real, like she was actually there. It wasn't a normal dream, it was almost...like a memory. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down. "Nothing….just a bad dream." she whispered looking over at him. Looking down, she saw that her hand was still holding onto Louis's "I'm so sorry!" pulling her hand away.

The small smile on his face warmed her heart, "don't worry about it." getting up from the bed, Luna stretched her arms above her head, "Davis is here by the way." Louis informed her.

Tilting her head, "is he here to pick up yet another levy?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "At this rate we'll be rationing for years."

"No, but I did inform him of the blood spring that you activated back in the Old City Ruins."

"Oh," Luna whispered, "so what brings him by?"

Leaving her room, "he didn't really mention, he just requested to talk to all of us." he answered her, walking into the main area of the base Luna could see Coco was unpacking the supplies she was able to grab on her latest expedition with Murasame helping her sort them out.

"Look who's up!" Coco said, "you sure enjoy your sleep missy." she laughed, grabbing a stack of boxes. "Come on Murasame, let's get these down to storage."

Following right behind, Murasame paused as she stood close to Luna. "Don't mind Coco, that's just her way of showing she cares." she reassured her.

Looking towards the mistle, they could see Yakumo talking with Davis. To both of them, it didn't appear to be anything more than a normal conversation. Yakumo turned towards the sound of footsteps approaching behind him, "good job Louis! Looks like you were able to wake her up!" Yakumo chuckled, patting his friend's shoulder. "You sleep well Luna?"

Grabbing her arm, "not really, bad dream." she briefly spoke.

"I'm sorry to hear that, you can go back to sleep if you want." Yakumo suggested, taking a better look at Luna he could see the dark circles under her eyes, the exhaustion still lingering in her shoulders. "That was a pretty rough battle yesterday."

Waving her hands, "no it's fine, I'll be ok." she told him, trying to dispel his concerns. "Good to see you again Davis." she greeted him.

Crossing his arms, "likewise." taking a deep breath, "I just wanted to stop by and give my personal thanks to you three, not only were you able to find and restore a Blood Spring, but you were able to terminate the Butterfly of Delirium." Davis started, "that thing has been a menace for quite some time, it's slaughtered so many Revenants and humans. I'm forever grateful for your team's strength and courage, Louis."

"Thank you Davis, but there's no need. We're simply doing what we can while on our search for the Source."

Davis chuckled, "figures you would say something like that. Well regardless I wanted to give you some information for the area that you came across." he said, "Yakumo has filled me in on it, that area is known as the Dried Up Trenches, it's an extremely dangerous area that doesn't give anyone exploring much room to dodge."

"That's no surprise," Luna whispered, recalling the thin ledges that made up the area. "No one would ever come back from a fall that high."

"And no one has," Davis replied. "But there's something there that you three must be made aware of. Deep within the trenches is a Lost, it's known as the Insatiable Despot. I haven't seen it myself personally, but I've heard enough about it to know that's a dangerous beast."

"Is that so?" Yakumo questioned.

Nodding his head, "it is, this Lost carries a large two headed hammer that is called the Tyrant's Labrys. It may appear to be slow, but it can and will exploit any window of opportunity it can find. Not only that, but the Despot can manifest crystals that if left alone will hatch into miniature versions of itself."

"Miniature?" Luna inquired, "how big is this thing?"

"That I'm not certain of, but do not underestimate this Lost." Davis instructed them.

Given this new information, the trio looked at each other with worry. The Butterfly of Delirium was a tough opponent, but if what Davis was saying was true they all knew they needed to think of a strategy to take this new foe down. "We appreciate the information Davis," Louis extended his hand as both men shook.

"If finding Blood Springs gets us information like that, then I'm all for it!" Yakumo said, his hand moving like he was holding his weapon.

"Just don't get over eager, Yakumo…. Now about my visit, there's something I would like to ask of all of you. It appears that we have found some maps pertaining to the Depths. I know that they may not be beneficial in your search for the Source, but I would be grateful for any help you can provide in exploring these areas."

"The Depths?" Luna asked.

Nodding his head, "yes, the Depths are areas that are filled with valuable resources we Revenants use for our weapons and enhancements for combat. Even before Operation Queenslayer, the Depths were mined and excavated for them. However, they're filled with miasma and hordes of Lost. They can be extremely dangerous, which is why I understand if you do not wish to venture in them."

"Why do you want us to explore them?" Luna wondered.

Sighing, "the Depths are basically a treasure trove of supplies that any Revenant could want, given they have a keen eye for what they are looking for. But there are other items that may interest those in particular." Davis hinted, walking back towards the mistle. "Oh by the way, a woman was recently taken into one of the human shelters." turning towards the group.

Luna smiled, looking towards Yakumo and Louis. "Yea? Is she doing ok?" Yakumo asked.

"She is comfortable now, poor thing looked like she hadn't eaten in awhile, but she asked me to pass a message along to the group of Revenants that saved her. She wanted to say thank you, for saving her life." Reaching towards the mistle, Davis slowly vanished before their eyes.

Putting his arms around his comrades, "well I wasn't expecting that, we just saw her yesterday."

"Yea well, given the circumstances she was in I would probably jump at the chance for some form of sanctuary." Luna told Yakumo. A sharp pain ran through her body, her hands reaching for her the two men close to her.

Yakumo caught Luna in his arms, as she struggled to keep her balance, "Luna! What's wrong?" Louis took hold of her face, seeing the tiredness in her eyes.

"Is she gonna be ok?"

"She just appears to be tired, let's move her to the couch." Louis instructed, as Yakumo helped carry Luna over to one of their large couches. Placing her carefully on it, Luna could feel the pain in her body traveling to every nerve causing pains that ranged from that of a needle to a searing hot pain.

"Guys I'll be fine," hearing her voice, Luna was stunned by how weak it sounded. Just a moment ago she was fine, but now this. The strange familiarity of her ailment scared her, she knew she had felt something like this before but couldn't figure out from where. _"Did I feel like this as a human? Or is this the aftermath from our fight yesterday?" _questions pounded in her mind.

"No you just rest," Louis told her. Kneeling down beside her, _"is this because of that strange power she has?" _Louis wondered. This was similar to their fight against the Lost when Luna had absorbed its vestige and exhibited a more deadly side of combat, but recalling those past events she had collapsed moments after it had happened. _"Could her power and this weakness be connected?" _He tried not to think of it anymore, but it was hard to keep his mind off of those thoughts.

Heavy eyelids were slowly beginning to shut, she wanted to fight back but her body was screaming at her to submit. No words escaped her lips as everything turned black.

* * *

_Slowly opening her eyes, the sound of machines buzzing filled her ears. Her eyes began to adjust to her surroundings. Monitors filled the corners of the room, countless numbers in red on their screens. _

_A heaviness on her chest caught her attention. Barely able to look down she could see them, various cords and tunes embedded in her chest pumping and pushing fluid into her body. She could feel them pulling blood from her while at the same time feeling the pressure of the unknown substance enter her body. It was slow, yet as the seconds went by the pain began to grow stronger and stronger. Luna flinched as the burning sensation consuming every fiber of her body. _

_Trying to move her hand to chest, her eyes widened in fear as her hand was frozen. "What's going on?" It hurt to speak, her throat felt dry like she hadn't had any water to drink in days. Each attempt to speak was futile, the muscles around her neck were convulsing, slowly traversing her form. _

_The pain started to grow worse as her body was so engulfed in relentless torment. She tried to speak, to call for help but no words could escape her lips. 'What's wrong with me?' Luna thought to herself. Forced to endure this agony, she wanted to rip the cords out of her and run but her body refused to listen to her as she lay motionless in torment. 'This isn't right!' Tears flowing from her eyes. The stabbing pain was never-ending just constant wave after wave of pure suffrage. 'Make it stop! Please someone!' She could only hope someone would hear her pleas, to catch a glimpse of the pain she was in._

_Luna felt that hours had passed but it never stopped even for a second. To her it was only getting worse. The pain was nearly unbearable, like a living hell that pressured her into accepting. It wasn't right. None of it was. How could she end up like this, how can she be made to go through something as horrible as this. She would do anything to make this pain stop, anything. 'Please someone make this stop.' _

_"It appears we're still having a hard time suppressing the rejection." A woman's voice spoke, Luna could help but feel a familiarity behind the voice. "I'm sorry, but we need to move onto the next phase, Cruz…. Just try to bear with it a bit longer..."_

_Luna's eyes widened, 'next phase? Cruz?' why did someone call her Cruz, 'no this can't be!?'_

_Her gaze moved down as one of the tubes as a light blue substance was being pushed up the tube. The liquid began to invade her body, the agonizing pain she was already in was starting to amplify. Everything around her no longer mattered, the amplification of her pain was too much for her to handle. Luna wanted her body to shut down, to stop the madness of anguish that was consuming every part of her. 'Someone…. Anyone….' her voice finally found her, as she uttered two words. Two words she thought she'd never speak. _

"_Kill…. Me….."_

_Death was the only way for her to escape. An end to the insanity. The pain, agony. It was too much. _

"_Someone….. Please…. Kill me!" _

_The pain suddenly vanished, the world around her began to change. Luna watched as the tubes that were attached to her chest began to disappear, slowly giving her the ability to move her body. Sitting up she could see that she was sitting in the familiar meadow-like space, putting a hand to her chest, her fingers searched for anything that would indicate that something had been done to her but found there was nothing there._

"_You won't find anything," the sound of her voice made Luna jump. Rising to her feet, she inspected the scar upon the woman's chest._

"_You're Cruz…..." she whispered, now knowing the woman's name. Everything made sense to her now, "they…. They did that to you, didn't they?" she questioned. Luna watched her nod her head. "That must have been horrible."_

_Cruz. The woman who endured painful experiments for Project Queen, who later on frenzied and killed anyone who tried to stop her, even killing Louis. Luna knew she had only experienced a fraction of what Cruz did during her time, she couldn't imagine how long she must have felt that. Nor how long she was begging for someone to end her suffering. "It was." Cruz responded._

"_Why is it that you're here?" Luna questioned her. "I'm not connected to you, you guys have me mistaken for someone else." she told her. She heard her name back in Louis's memories, during one of the visits that Louis had made to Cruz during her time during Project Queen. "There are a lot of girls named Luna, but it's not me!" _

_Feeling a coldness sweep over her, Cruz slowly began to disappear in front of her. "You still don't know...do you?" Cruz asked her before completely fading away. The serene area changed drastically as everything around her was replaced by a void of darkness. The ground vanished from beneath her feet causing Luna to fall endlessly into the void._

"_Still don't know what!?" Luna shouted at the top of her lungs, but got no response. "Who are you to me? Answer me!" she demanded, but still received nothing._

"_Luna…"_

* * *

A couple hours had passed as Louis and Yakumo looked at the map, they were still discussing the newest area that the trio had recently come across and with the new information that Davis had provided them it was clear that this area was going to be difficult, " I honestly don't like our odds," Louis said.

"Yea, who knows what's crawling behind each-" Yakumo stopped, the sound of grunts catching their attention. Walking over to the couch that Luna was on, they could see the young woman twisting and turning in her sleep. Her eyes closed shut like she was in distress. "What's going on with her?"

Rushing over to her side, Louis put his hands on her shoulder as he carefully shook her. "Luna…. Luna woke up," he said to her softly, her head shifting side to side. "I think she's having a bad dream," he said.

"Man how much does she need to sleep?" Yakumo asked, "I feel like she's been sleeping for weeks."

Smiling, "she still might be recovering from restoring so many vestiges yesterday. It's possible that it created a substantial amount of strain on her." Her eyes shot wide open, as they were both shocked by what they saw.

Piercing blue eyes over took her purple irises, the whites of her eyes were as black as the night. Louis held her down as her body began to flail. "What the hell is going on?" Yakumo helped hold her down, the strength she exhibited was beyond that of a normal Revenant. "Something's not right," he was struggling to keep her down. Her screams of pain ringing in their ears, "Louis you got to stop her!"

"I'm trying!" It took everything he had to keep her upper body from moving, the look in her eyes was empty; like a being without a soul. The way her eyes locked onto him was eerily familiar. Louis grabbed her arms tightly, "Luna, snap out of it!" he yelled, "this isn't like you!" He watched as her eyes closed shut, her body stopped moving. They hesitantly released her, distancing themselves as they both waited for what was going to happen next.

Opening her eyes, Luna slowly sat up. Letting out a yawn, she could see the two men at her side look at her in worry. Rubbing her eyes, "what's wrong?" she asked them, feeling a slight pain in her arms and legs. "Was I talking in my sleep?"

They didn't know what to say to her, the men looked at each other for a moment. "You were having a really bad dream," Louis quietly said. "It was so bad that it was like you were fighting in your sleep." he couldn't bring himself to tell her what they had seen.

Luna tilted her head, she couldn't recall her dream at all. "I see, I'm sorry guys." getting up from the couch, "I'm going to get some rest in my room," she told them, walking towards the hallway.

Yakumo watched her get a good distance away before shaking his head, "what the hell…." those eyes. He knew that he wasn't seeing things anymore, those blue eyes. While they were fighting the Butterfly of Delirium, Yakumo thought he was seeing things when Luna was fighting the beast. For a brief moment he thought he saw her eyes were a different color. Now it was confirmed. "Something is not right here."

"What do you mean?" Louis questioned.

"There's something off about her," Yakumo told him. "Think of it, at the last second she was able to execute that monster back in the Old City Ruins. She was struggling the fight against the Butterfly of Delirium and then next thing we know, she single handedly slays it. And those eyes!" he listed, "there was coldness in her eyes, like a blood thirsty beast. She's not a normal Revenant."

Louis couldn't deny what Yakumo was saying, he had seen Luna's fighting capabilities twice now. The way she could subdue large monsters with ease. Out of every Revenant they had crossed blades with, Luna was in a whole different league. "We don't know what she's been through, for all we know she's a gifted fighter."

Yakumo scoffed, "Louis…you care about her, a lot, but….this isn't something we can ignore." he knew how deep Louis's attachment to her was, but they couldn't turn a blind eye to this. "We need to keep an eye on her, for all we know if that happens again we'll be her next targets."

"Luna wouldn't do that!" Louis snapped. Mentally slapping himself, he knew he shouldn't have bursted out like that, "I'm sorry….I agree we'll keep an eye on her, but you shouldn't assume that Luna would do something as reckless as attacking us. She wouldn't do that, it's not like her." Louis defended her. "I know she wouldn't."

Sitting down on the couch, "I may not know the details of what happened between you two, but regardless…." Yakumo stopped. Even before they met, Yakumo knew that Louis had been searching for her for so long. She was always on his mind. "We need to think about the others, if for some reason she attacks any of us I hope you'll understand….. That I won't hold back."

Louis didn't respond for a while as they were silent for what felt like hours. "Yakumo, I won't stop you if it comes to that." breaking the silence, "but I believe we don't need to worry, Luna doesn't hurt people that she cares about or trusts. That's something I learned about her a long time ago."

"Back when you were humans?"

"Yeah."

Leaning back, Yakumo crossed his arms. "I guess those vestiges helped you remember a bit."

"No, I've always had them." Louis replied, "everytime we die we lose something important to us, that's something we learned after we became Revenants. But I didn't want to lose my memories of Luna….." after so many years, he had forgotten Kevin and blinded himself to Cruz's fate.

Yakumo grinned, "just like how my friends are important to me, Luna is very close to your heart."

"She's more than close to my heart," pulling the locket from his pocket, he still held onto it even now. "I've told you before, that I was going to find her no matter what and now that she's here….. I don't want to lose her again."

"Even if she turns into a killing machine?"

Feeling his heart tighten, "If that were to happen…. Then I won't make the same mistake twice…."

Luna leaned against the corner of the hallway, just out of distance of their view. Placing a hand to her eyes, "what's wrong with me?" she whispered to herself. She couldn't blame Yakumo for being cautious of her, but Louis. He was different. Her chest tightened after listening to the way he stood up for her. The way he spoke of her, it sent her heart a flutter. Every word he spoke about her was strung with confidence, like he had known her all his life. The immense feeling of trust he had towards her wasn't something someone could gain over the span of a few days.

Grasping the clothing above her heart, Luna tried to understand the feelings swelling inside her. The kindness Louis showed her, the way he was at her side during their travels and fights together. He talked with her without holding back, he spoke to her like there was no barrier between them. _"Am I really the same Luna?... No I can't be…. Can I?" _the question stirred in her mind over and over again.

The strange dream she had this morning, Louis's memories… they all pointed in the same direction. Shaking her head, _"no...it's just a coincidence…." _Luna tried to tell herself. She didn't know what to think or believe, her heart and her mind were at odds fighting an unseeable battle. _"I just want to believe it's true... so my mind must have made something up... that happens... right?"_ she mentally asked herself, knowing she wouldn't get a response.

Walking back to her room, Luna quietly shut the door behind her. Laying down on the bed, she pulled the covers over her face. Curling up in a ball she wrapped her arms around herself. Taking a deep breath, Luna tried to focus on the bigger issue at hand. "It has happened twice now…" she thought to herself. Two of the most difficult fights she's been apart in and she doesn't even know how it ended, only that she was the one that finished off whatever beast was in her way. "It all started with that voice…." she whispered.

Before she blacked out a voice called out to her, offering her help. Presenting a gift of power, always suppressing any pain she was in and giving her the strength to continue. Luna couldn't deny that something was wrong with it. Like she was a puppet being controlled by a hidden puppetmaster in the darkness of her own mind. She hated that she had relied on it whenever she was in a tight spot._ "Listen here and listen well!"_ she screamed in her head._ "Leave me alone! I don't know who or what you are, but leave me alone!" _

No reply responded to her cries.

Holding herself tighter, Luna knew she could never allow herself to be controlled again by whatever was inside of her. It may have given her the power that she needed, but the price was too much. "I don't want to become a monster that they fear."

Hours passed, but Luna couldn't make herself go to sleep as she watched the sky outside change colors. She couldn't stop thinking about the voice that called her, it didn't sound like anyone she knew or even herself. An enigma was all that it was, but behind its mystery was a force. Throwing the blanket off of her, she sat on the edge of her bed. "Whatever is inside of me, I must never ever use it again." the way Yakumo described the change in her eyes, like that of a heartless monster.

"I'm never using it again."


End file.
